Rise of the EggKnights
by Mazz84
Summary: Two worlds will collide!The EggKnights are rising to brave the Oncoming Storm. Full summary inside since I'm bad at doing these things.Untold 10th Doctor story! Read and review! Part 1 of 2.
1. Prologue

**Back again sooner than expected, this time with a new crossover! I'm so excited!**

**Sonic and Co are owned by SEGA, the Doctor and the TARDIS owned by the BBC and so on. Blah, blah…**

**Don't like it, why the heck did you click on it for? Silly-Billy!**

_Full Summary. _

_Something is taking the homeless at night, something shiny that can move through the shadows like ghosts. A new craze - E-NET- is sweeping Station Square and the surrounding cities, is it connected? With Sonic at death's door after his latest adventure G.U.N need help fast, luckily it arrives in a mysterious blue box…_

Characters.

Sola the Hedge cat (A surprise for later chapters!)

Miles 'Tails' Prower.

Amy Rose Hedgehog.

Rouge the Bat.

Shadow the Hedgehog.

Uncle Chuck Hedgehog.

Dr 'Eggman' Robotnik.

**Special guest star!**

The Doctor- Last of the Time Lords.

**Here we go!**

* * *

Rise of the Egg Knights. 

Prologue.

**Station Square- nighttime…**

Little Billy was running through the storm, the rain made puddles that soaked his socks through the holes in his shoes. He ran harder keeping a very close eye on the shadows and hoping his friends were wrong about the stories. His cheap watch bleep the hour and he panicked, the hostel would be shutting its doors for the night and he would be forced to sleep outside in this horrible weather.

_Just a little further_ He thought, tugging up his coat collar. In the distance he could make out the dim rectangles of light that were the buildings windows. _Almost there._ Suddenly he slipped on an uneven slab of pavement and fell onto his knees.

Groaning, the young boy struggled to his feet and stumbled on. Reaching the door, he made a grab at the handle when it flew open at it own accord. Billy screwed up his eyes at the sudden flare across his vision and stepped back, once again falling over the loose part of the walkway.

A figure, a monster of a man stood in the light. He was big and fat with a bushy moustache; he glared down at him. His face twisted into a sinister smile. "Oh-ho! One that nearly got away, huh? Boys!"

From the shadows they came. The metal ghosts from the stories were real! The little boy's scream of horror was cut short as a shiny hand grabbed him. He felt something press into his ears, a tingling sensation in his head and then his mind went blank save for one instruction.

_**March.**_

The ghosts stood aside and let him join his friends and the other poor souls from the hostel. They formed two lines- on the right the boys, on the left the girls. As one the lines marched forward and up the ramps leading into the backs of the lorries parked around the corner, just out of sight.

The fat man watched his newest batch of human guinea pigs drive away to his secret laboratory. The pods worked perfectly give or take a few tiny bugs but that's why they were called guinea pigs. One of his very first test subjects walked up to his side and consulted its clipboard. The man was proud of this one; the outer shells of its ears were rimmed with minuscule red lights and its eyes were blue, unlike the others who had boring black eyes.

"What's the score for tonight, EK 18?"

EK 18 looked down at the chart and bleeped. _"Forty-six new recruits ready for upgrading, sir. Home base confirms that __**E-NET**__ will be ready on schedule. Citywide distribution commences three weeks from today. Soon the Empire will rise."_

The man nodded with a smile and climbed into his waiting aircraft that was shaped like him- round. " You got that damn right. Come, my son. There's much to do and so little time to do it in. With my most hated enemy out for the count nothing can slow down the Eggman Empire. Nothing!" He cackled loudly, starting up his ship and flying into the night sky.

EK 18 nodded. _"Understood. Returning to base."_ It boomed before firing up its booster pack and following its beloved master. _"Nothing can stop the Empire."_

If only they knew that fate was going to throw a spanner in the works. Well, maybe a screwdriver at least.

--

**Meanwhile…**

Far away in a place where time and space had no meaning, a block of the deepest blue stood out like a sore thumb against the purple and gold misty swirls of the Time Vortex. The light at its top was like an eye, on the look out for adventure.

Inside the blue box was a vast chamber made from coral, an impossible feat inside something so small but that was the thing about the flying box. It liked the impossible, just like its owner. The walls of the control room dimmed and flared with an eerie green glow as the insides of the glass pillar above a mushroom shaped console raised and fell. The light fell onto the face of a man dressed in a brown pinstriped suit, who was deep in thought and looking at his computer screen with narrowed eyes.

The man, who looked in his early thirties, turned a tiny knob at the side of the screen and watched the message rewind. Stopping it at the right time, he slipped on a pair of thick-rimmed specs from his pocket and peered closely at the lady as she spoke again.

" _This is an urgent message for the last Time Lord, code purple. Repeat, code purple. The people of Station Square are in danger. __**E-NET**__ is not what it seems. The knights of the Empire are rising from the shadows. Please help them. Coordinates to follow …" _

The message cut out just after the coordinates of the mysterious destination had finished, the man rewound it again and again, each time getting more and more puzzled. The lady on screen knew him, well, she knew _of _him but that was enough to rouse his curiosity.

He rubbed his chin and then grinned wildly replacing his glasses in his pockets. It seemed that he just found his new adventure, weather he wanted it or not. He bounced around the odd shaped console flicking switches here and twirling knobs there until finally coming to a flat lever that stuck out the side.

The handbrake.

Glancing at a smaller screen containing the numbers he should follow, he chewed the insides of his cheeks. Should he or shouldn't he?

"Oh, what the hell. One pretty faced SOS and I'm anyone's." He released the handbrake and grabbed the side of the console for dear life as his beloved machine jerked violently from side to side. Watching the centre column rise and fall made him smile manically once more. "Right, Station Square it is." He said cheerily, "_Allons-y!_"

The blue box spun wildly on the spot before tumbling back up along the Vortex, its little light blinking all the way.

A storm was coming to Station Square.

* * *

**Go on... Review, I know you want to.**

**More soon.**


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1. 

**Station Square. (Approximately a month later…time circuits need fixing again!)**

It was early afternoon and the sun was shining, a light breeze made the flowers lining the stone paths dance to their hearts content. The breeze suddenly grew stronger, so strong that it threatened to rip the blooms right out of the grass. A loud and strange sound carried in the air, deep and wheezing.

From out of nowhere a big bulky shape appeared. A blue box parked itself on the edge of the green. The light on its top flickered for a second then stopped, the horrible grating noise from within the odd craft stopped also.

The box became silent, not that it bothered the people walking around it or the children playing a game of 5 a side football on the grass. The double doors of the craft opened with a flourish and a man leaped out onto the path taking in a deep breath.

"Cor! Smell that air! Roses, Violets, Geraniums…If I'm not mistaken, I'm in a…" He turned and smacked into a signpost that read: **Welcome to Flora Park. **" A flower garden. Wonderful!" He smiled warmly. "Love flowers."

"Heads up!" A football smacked into the side of his ship. "Sorry, mister." A small boy of about eight came running up with an apologetic grin. "My sister, Susie, doesn't know her own strength sometimes."

"That's a lie and you know it!" A girl of six joined him, she had pale skin and fair hair unlike her brother who was tanned and had brown locks. "Wait till I tell mum you've been talking to strangers, she won't let you get your pods now, Bobby." She stooped, picked up the ball and ran back to join their friends.

"Oh, but I'm not a stranger. I'm a…a…" The man fished in his pockets to pull out a faded leather wallet. "Here you go. Take a look, that'll tell you who I am." He prayed the wallet would show the boy something good. Inside the leather casing was something called physic paper, a handy tool indeed. The boy squinted hard and tried to make out the tiny writing. "Well?"

Bobby gulped, "Sorry Doctor Smith. I didn't know you worked for G.U.N. Please don't tell my mum I was rude to my sister, she'll kill me." His voice grew to a whisper. " Are you here investigating the kidnappings too? It's OK, you can tell me, I won't tell anyone."

"Yes I am." He replied whispering also. "And I won't tell your mum anything, is this her now?" He straightened up with a bright smile. "Hello! I'm Doctor Smith and--" The air cracked as hand met cheek, he reeled back in shock wincing then rubbed his bruised jaw. " Mothers…it's _always _the mothers…" He muttered.

"You keep the hell away from my kids! I'll have the police on you if you come anywhere near them again. Understand? Come on, Bobby, it's time to get you pods. I said come on!" She flicked back her hair revealing her ears for the first time, her face changed to a bribing smile. "You can get some like mummy, you like blue don't you? Let's see if the shop has blue ones. And afterwards we can get some ice-cream, how about that, hm?"

"Excuse me…those pods, what are they?"

Bobby's mum huffed wrapping her arm protectively around her son, if must have hurt because poor Bobby hissed through his teeth. "Where have you been hiding these past few months, under a rock?" She pointed at the pods; they were like bulky cordless headphones that hooked around the ear. Hers were studded with blue tiny lights that twinkled every few seconds. " Brand new, got them last week on a trail run. Absolutely brilliant, that Mr Roberto is a true genius. One of a kind." She finished with a smile.

_I highly doubt that._ He mused, slipping on his glasses and peering in close. The pods looked so familiar to him, where had he seen them before? " And…Mr Roberto is who?"

Her brows disappeared into her dyed hair. "Blimey, you _have_ been under a rock. Mr Irvin Roberto is CEO of **E-NET**. That stands for: _Extremely Nifty Ear Technology_. Station Square has been chosen to be the first city for the trial run. Everybody's got them," She looked at his ears closely. "Apart from you…why don't you have them?"

He scratched the back of his neck. "Ah… Because…Because I… I'm really thinking of a good excuse here… Just bear with me…"

Bobby tugged his mum's sleeve and muttered in her ear. She gave him a quick once over, looked over his shoulder at the blue box and read the sign on its roof, then she gave him an apologetic grin. "I didn't realise you were a copper, I'm so sorry. Really."

"That's fine." He grinned at Bobby mouthing _Thank you _and returning his glasses back into his pocket. "I'm new in the area, just started today actually. Do you know where the local cop shop is? Need to give them my paperwork, and get a parking permit for my special police box," He patted the blue box affectionately. " So much red tape, it's a drag." He sighed.

Her grin grew as she was warming to him, which seemed to happen a lot no matter where he ended up. " Of course, officer." She said in a falsely sweet voice that made Bobby shake his head in embarrassment. " The station just down that way, follow the right path to the exit, past the library and the big tower block, around the corner by the diner. You can't miss it." She all but dragged Bobby away. "Bye now and good luck."

"Thank you for all your help, miss. Goodbye, Bobby." He watched them go and then darting inside the box, reappearing a second later in a long brown coat. Checking the doors of the box were closed and locked, he turned and at a brisk walk that sent his coat tails flapping headed down the right path, vaguely aware of the CCTV that followed him and fought the urge to hum the opening theme to _Big Brother_.

--

Soon he came to busy high street. As he passed the people of Station Square it became obvious that he had missed the launch of this **E-NET**, which was good for one reason; that he didn't have to wear black tie. But was bad for another; he still didn't have a clue what it was about.

He noticed something else too, some people like Bobby's mother had lights around the edges of their pods, and others just had plain silver. It did looked so familiar, but where from?

"Got you good didn't she, mate." came a voice.

He stopped, looked around and spotted a small newspaper stand. A grin slowly formed on his face. When in doubt about local news- head for the shops! He crossed the road and smiled at the man behind the counter. "Hello!"

The man gave a forced smile. His name-tag read TED. "I said she got you good." He pointed to the others pink cheek. "What happened? She didn't like her pods, wrong size, and wrong colour? You really are in trouble."

"Yeah. Didn't like them. Now… I'd like today's paper please." He fished out his wallet again and flashed its contents. " Doctor Smith, Sales Rep of the…_Station Star_. Now, you be a good salesman and I won't report you crummy sales technique to high office, deal or no deal?"

Ted paled slightly, "Yes, sir. Right away, sir. Have a paper free of charge. Would you like a small bar of chocolate too? Just got a new batch in, really tasty."

"Just the paper, thanks." He read the front page. " '_Kidnap mystery deepens. Local police stumped. E-NET information, new pods and upgrades! Will Sonic ever wake up? No comment from G.U.N. '_ Hm…Well that was unhelpful. Need a sign. Anything." He muttered under his breath.

"Hiya, Ted. Just the usual, thanks." He looked down at where the voice had come from. Standing at his waist height was a girl with bright pink hair in a neatly cut bob, she was wearing a red blouse and black leggings, and on her feet a pair of big red boots completed the look. She grinned up at him. "Hi," she said, "I'm Amy. Amy Rose."

He blinked, _she's an anthropomorphic but that's impossible! She shouldn't even exist in this time frame. _"You're a…a…"

Amy grinned sweetly at his stammer, "A hedgehog?" She offered helpfully. The stranger nodded. "You're not from round here, are you?"

"That obvious, huh?"

She nodded slipping her shopping into her bag. "Just a tad."

Ted plonked something heavy on top of the counter making them jump. "Here you go, Amy. Came first thing this morning, all the way from Soleanna." He produced a thick envelope too. "This as well from Spagonia University signed by Professor Pickle himself."

Amy smiled, "At last! Tails' has been waiting weeks for this." She went to pick up the box and nearly toppled over. "Man, that's heavy."

"Here, let me." The new comer lifted the box was ease, earning him a few raised brows. "So, err…anywhere special with this?"

Amy pointed towards the train station, "Mystic Ruins."

--

A short ride later and the two came to a wooden hut over looking the sea. Amy went in first to check the coast was clear, she waved him in. "Just put it on the table, I'll tell Tails it's--" A loud muffled boom came from the lowers levels of the house. Amy gasped "Not again!" and hurried down the stairwell at the end of the room.

The man placed the box on said table and ran after her taking the steps two at a time. Reaching the last step he pinched his nose. "Eeww, extra crispy wires and circuits." He followed the stench and came to a small homemade laboratory. "Oh, wow! Just look at this. Very impressive!"

"Who the devil are you!" A sky-blue hedgehog wearing a wine coloured waistcoat stormed over. He looked far older than Amy and was sporting a greying moustache and bushy eyebrows. "How'd he get in? _Amy_…" He growled in annoyance.

Amy was over the other side of the room helping a third animal to his feet, this one was a young orange fox, and he had two tails and bright blue eyes. Amy looked over and gave an embarrassed grin. " He's a friend. Helped me with your...You know, from Soleanna."

The blue hedgehog was cross and he wasn't shy about it. " He could be an **E-NET **spy. We should call G.U.N. right now. They'll deal with 'im" He made a beeline for the phone. "Can't take any chances, appearances can be deceiving."

"Oh, like **E-NET**? Must be very dangerous if the warning's purple." He grinned. "Good choice for a warning code, purple. Red's a bit camp these days."

"See, he knows! **E-NET** spy!"

The strangers held up his hands in a defensive gesture. "Not a spy. Just a friend passing through. I'm here to help, really."

"I believe him." Piped up the fox.

"So do I." Agreed Amy. " He feels safe, I _know_ he's safe."

The hedgehog with the eyebrows narrowed his eyes at her. "Are you sure? Can we trust that sixth sense of yours?"

Amy nodded, "Never let me down before. This man is telling us the truth. You can take that to the bank."

The elder of the trio walked around the stranger before nodding. "OK, if you two believe him, then I got no choice have I?" The two youngsters grinned. " Right then…seeing as my friends are giving you the benefit of the doubt you'll need to know who you're working with, so… introductions. You already know Amy, I'm Charles but everyone calls me Uncle Chuck and the kid is Miles but we call him Tails." He leaned forward. "And you, sir, what's your name?"

The man looked at the trio of animals then quickly around the room, a table with some pods in pieces stood in the middle. At the end of the lab was a set of small monitors. Seeing his ship on one of them, there was no doubt in his mind that these were the ones he'd been sent to help. Grabbing the bull by the horns he flashed them his most charming and dashing smile and extended his hand.

"I'm the Doctor."

The jaws of the three animals hit the floor as they just stared at him .

* * *

**Might be delays, computer being sent to the menders.**

**Try and update as soon as possible.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Sorry for delays. My mother's been hogging the computer since we got it back. She's obsessed with this farm town thing on Face book.**

**Never mind, enjoy folks.**

* * *

Chapter 2. 

The Doctor's hand hung in midair, nobody shook it. The three animals were just staring at him in dumb shock. The Time Lord gave them a weak grin and withdrew his hand, slightly awkward by the whole situation.

It was Chuck who spoke first, " You're the Doctor?"

" I am." He replied cheerfully. " And you're Chuck, right?"

"You know my name?"

"Yeah," The Doctor said slowly, nodding "because you just told me it was. You're Chuck, that's Tails and that's Amy and I'm the Doctor. Hello." He stuck out his hand again. "I'm not dangerous, you know. I received an SOS from a source saying that **E-NET** is unsafe and that some kind of Empire is rising. She named me as Time Lord and not a lot of people can do that."

"This source, did she have her face covered up by any chance so only her eyes were visible, jade eyes like our Amy?"

The Doctor quickly peeked at the pink hedgehogs orbs. Yes they were jade like his source. A relative maybe? His brown eyes narrowed a little. " Yes, she did."

The group looked at each other with wide eyes. Chuck smiled with delight and grasped the Doctor's hand in a firm hold. " She did it, she did it! Oh happy day! _Happy day!_" He wrapped his arms as tightly as he could around his waist, chuckling with glee. " Your source was a dear friend of ours, well she's really an older version of Amy from another world, but more on that later. Thank Chaos you're here, you're late for the launch of **E-NET** but still… You're here!"

"Well, hello to you too." Said the Doctor with a lop-sided grin. Chuck released him at sat back down at the row of monitors. Amy smiled warmly and extended her hand "Good thing you listened to that sixth sense of yours, hm?"

She blushed, "Don't tell them, but I didn't."

"Ah, sneaky." He winked.

Amy disappeared to the kitchenette to make tea; the only one who hadn't moved was Tails. He was standing where Amy had left him, nibbling his lower lip and fidgeting with a small hand held computer of sorts. " Um, Mister Doctor?"

"Its just Doctor, Tails." He said kindly, draping his long coat over the back of the nearest chair. He walked slowly towards him as not to scare him and offered him a kind smile. "Interesting scanning device there. Looks very high tech if I do say so myself."

The cub relaxed a little and grinned. "Thanks. She's my work of art."

"_She_?"

" This is Carla, my little girl and all round super computer. I hope you don't mind but can I scan you? Caz says she's getting odd readings from you."

The Doctor gave him his biggest grin and spread his arms wide, " Go on then. Scan me all you want, I dare you!"

With shaky hands Tails drew the device over the Doctor's body once, twice and then a third time. He blinked at the results and turned Carla onto her side, smacking her with the palm of his hand causing her to squeal. "Oops, sorry, Caz."

The Doctor leaned in close, "And the verdict is?"

Tails giggled. "Some people think I'm weird because I have two tails, I guess you have the same trouble. How do you cope with two hearts, Doctor?"

Amy nearly dropped the tray of streaming mugs she was carrying. "Two hearts? You have _two_ hearts?" she squeaked, handing a mug to Tails, one to Chuck, placing one for herself and one for the Doctor on the table. She sat down, sipped her tea and looked over the rim at him. "Two hearts?"

The Doctor grinned sheepishly, taking the tea and sitting down. "Guilty."

"Doctor," Chuck, from his place at the TVs, pushed his chair aside, giving them all a clear view. He pointed to one of them, on it was something that made the Doctor's twin hearts swell. "This your craft?"

"Aw, there she is!" Beamed the Time Lord like a proud dad. "My old girl, I'd be lost without her." He finished his tea, reached over for the pot and refilled his cup. Pouring in the milk he sniffed the jug and smiled. "Goats milk?" He asked Tails.

"Better for hedgehogs and it's healthier than cows milk."

"Nice."

Amy was squinting at the screen showing the blue box, she shook her head. "Your space ship is very small."

"Oi! Less of the cheek, lady." He sat back, "It might be small but it works just fine…Sort of."

"If you say so, Doctor." She smiled, eyes twinkling.

"A tad saucy, you are."

"Doctor, _please_. Time is short." Chuck pulled his chair up to the table. "You know about **E-NET**and that it's a big problem. There's only one Empire trying to take over and that's the Eggman Empire. If these things are connected in some way then we need your expertise to bring Sonic back."

"Right, then." He said, hoping to be filled in on this Sonic – whoever or whatever it was. He placed his empty cup on the table and leaned forward on his elbows. "Tell me everything. Start with how you lot got here and go on until you come up to the part about meeting me then stop. And if there's any chance of more tea, that'll be great!"

Amy nodded and left the room, leaving the boys to it.

--

Disused factory outskirts of Westopolis…

A shadow fell over the dry, muddy footprint on the warehouse floor. The print was long and big, made by something heavy. Rouge the Bat knelt down produced a camera and took a picture. She straightened up, pocketed the item and turned to find her partner staring at the wall opposite.

"Well, what have we got?"

Her team-mate, the black hedgehog named Shadow, _hummed_. "A big black smudge." He sighed, "I don't know. It looks human-ish." A shrug. "A human wearing headphones."

"Right! A human wearing headphones, just like the vague description given from the first kidnapping."

"Too bad the warehouse defence systems were on-line. Burnt this thing to a cinder. Look at its head here," He reached up and traced the mark on the wall. "Funny shape. Looks like handlebars of some kind…you know… Given the bulkiness of the torso, I think these are robots."

"And what makes you think that?"

Shadow gave her a dry smirk. "Ghosts don't leave footprints let alone boot prints. If robots are taking the children, what for and why only in Station Square?"

Rouge shrugged. "I don't know, don't ask me. Yes officer?" She waved over a chubby man dressed in navy army clothes. He handed her a thick envelope, saluted and marched away. The bat tested its weight before ripping it open. She flipped through the photographs, " Oh my gosh! Shadow, Shadow quick!"

Shadow blinked at the top picture. "Chuck was right. It _is_ a blue box! And that's him? That's really him?"

"Yup." She pulled out her walkie-talkie. "Shall I?" The black hedgehog nodded. She spoke clearly and quickly. " All units this is White Angel. Operation Nab 'n' Grab is a go. Blue box sighted at Flora Park. Team Beta converge with us at Tails' workshop, Mystic Ruins. I repeat this is a go." She slipped the gadget into her pocket and turned to Shadow, he wasn't there. "Ugh, typical men."

She took off into the air to catch up with Shadow and together they headed for Mystic Ruins.

--

Back at the workshop, the Doctor helped Tails bring down the box from the upper levels. The fox was very pleased with it, whatever it was, and dived right in pulling out various sized parts. Carla, next to him on the table, bleeped excitedly as she scanned the adjoining letter.

"Good news?" The Doctor asked. Amy was sitting next to him and had just finished telling him about the launch party of **E-NET **over a month ago. The Doctor couldn't believe that his source was, as Chuck had said, an older version of Amy projecting herself through a time-rift in the Void- of all places. He smiled with wonderment at the small group of animals before him, they had done the impossible, _and_ they did from _two_ different locations.

Tails nodded with a grin on his face. "I got my sums right at last! Thanks to Professor Pickle, I can get Carla up and running again…but it's very complicated and I need a second pair of hands." He looked shyly at him." Will you help me?" He asked.

"Of course!"

"_Thank you, Doctor."_ Came a soft voice from the scanner. Everyone smiled apart from the Doctor.

He blinked. "She talks? I didn't know she could talk."

"Yup and soon she'll be able to walk." Tails lifted a pair of metal gloves ending in fierce claws from the box along with some blueprints. "No time to lose, lets go!"

"Err, Doctor? You might want to see this." Chuck pointed to the screen containing the blue box.

"Eh? _Oi!_" On the screen the group could see a flat-back truck reverse near the Doctor's ship. "Oh no, you don't!" A big crane grabbed the top of the box and lifted it onto the trucks rear; the truck then calmly drove off. "That's my TARDIS!" The Doctor shrugged into his trench coat, nearly knocking over the chairs as he tore up the steps two at a time to the upper level of the hut. When Amy, Tails and Chuck caught up with him they found him standing in the open doorway leading outside with his hands raised in surrender. At their approaching footfalls, he chanced a glance backwards that was followed by the cocking of many guns. "Friends of yours?"

Amy moved in for a closer look. "What the hell? What are you two doing?"

Shadow and Rogue were in the middle of a sea of navy. The bat stepped forward unrolling a piece of paper, the black hedgehog next to her stared at the Doctor with cold eyes.

Rouge cleared her throat, "By orders of the Commander, you are under arrest for trespassing on this planet. You will be escorted to a secure G.U.N location for questioning to determine if you are a deadly threat to our people."

"Really? I'm under arrest, seriously?" The Doctor lower his hands, showing that he was willing to have them cuffed. A nearby solider marched up to him and- with out a hint of a smile- roughly cuffed his hands. The Doctor spotted the anxious looks on the others faces and winked. "I'll be fine. OK, solider-boy, take me to your leader." He grinned.

The group of Freedom Fighters watched as the Doctor was shoved into a jeep and driven away. Rouge and Shadow gave them apologetic shrugs before jumping into the last jeep. The convoy drove out of Mystic Ruins and became a tiny speck of black on the horizon.

"Well now what do we do?" Said Amy tugging her hair. "With no Doctor, we're screwed. And so is Sonic."

"Don't worry, Amy." Chuck had a mysterious glint in his old eyes. "There's only one place nearby belonging to G.U.N and just by chance it's the same one housing Sonic. If the Doctor is as smart as I've been told everything will be fine. Although," He smiled at Tails, "it wouldn't hurt to see how he gets on with the Commander and maybe lend a hand to escape?"

Tails smirked. "One level-six code breaker coming up!"

--

Elsewhere in a huge structure shaped like an egg on the other side of the planet, someone else was watching the capture of the Doctor and the _borrowing_ of his blue box.

"Hm…"

"_You have a plan, my Lord?"_EK-18 stood behind his master's chair like the good robot he was.

Eggman smirked plucking another chocolate covered egg from the box on his lap. "I think I have. This _policeman_ interests me; his machine… my scanner readings are off the charts. He's something else." The madman sat back in his chair. "I think…a test."

"_A test?"_

"Yes, a test! Ready my Egg tank and send EK-05 to Mystic Ruins at once. Time to see how good this policeman is."

"_And what about the schedule?"_

"Oh, yes! Mustn't be late! Come EK-18, to the make-up rooms. We must look our best for the people of Shamar." He struggled out of his chair and wobbled out of the control room carrying his sweets, dropping most of them onto the floor. "Be a good boy EK-18 and bring the ARK improvement up-dates along too, if the drones have made it past the second stage, then I think they need to be up-graded for open _space_ use. Have your brothers scout the nearby areas of for new blood."

EK-18 bowed his head, picked up a regular looking file from the desk marked **ARK MK2** and followed his master.

* * *

**Next chapter up!**


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3. 

The Doctor had been taken to a secure location for questioning, he couldn't tell where thanks to the tinted windows on the jeep. The vehicle jolted to a halt and he was roughly manhandled to a tiny room, it was furnished with only a table and a couple of chairs. In the top left corner of the ceiling a camera hid ready to record everything.

They were, perhaps, the most boring few hours of the time travellers' lives. The Commander, in his sixties with salt and pepper hair walked into the room with the aura of a man not to be messed with. He paced in front of the Doctor before taking the chair opposite.

"So…" He began calmly; the Doctor raised a brow but said nothing, playing it safe. The Commander sneered and thumped the tables' top with an iron fist. "Who are you and what are you doing on my planet?" He roared.

The Doctor blinked, a picture of innocence still keeping an eye on the camera.

The Commander rattled off all the usual questions, shouting himself hoarse before storming off in a manly huff. The Doctor shook his head with an amused grin, sat back in his chair, slipped out of his handcuffs under the cover of the table's top and waited. His smile grew when the red light on the device went out, _Thank you, Tails_. Jumping to his feet he eased the door open with help from his sonic screwdriver and crept along the corridors of the compound. Time to find the TARDIS and get the heck out of here. He came to a sudden stop at a T-junction.

"… Stable today. I think some relaxing music might help, I saw it on TV." A soft voice was coming up the middle path. The Doctor pressed himself against the wall as much as he could. The bat that had arrested him walked past dressed in her uniform, in one hand she carried a towel the other she held the phone against her ear. "OK, Shadow. I'll see you in Lab Delta after I've had a shower. Yes, if I can. OK then, bye!" She pocketed the phone and vanished into one of the offices.

The Doctor heaved a big sigh of relief and slumped. That was too close, if he wanted a good snoop around he needed a disguise and fast. Edging along the walls he found a door leading to the _perfect _place- the staff room. Slipping inside quickly, he searched every locker until he found a white lab coat that fitted him. Rolling up his brown coat, he shoved it in a clear evidence bag and stepped out again.

He turned from the closed door and paled, "Ah…"

"Halt!" An officer carrying a machine gun stopped him in his tracks.

"Oh, hello! I've got this for testing." He held up the bag with his coat inside. "It's from the prisoner." He added in a stage whisper. It did the trick because the guard took an uncertain step back. He sighed, "Had to come all the way here from the Labs. You know…_Those _Labs…"

"Ah… you're from _those _Labs. Why didn't you say so?" He saluted making the Doctor cringe inward. "I'm sorry, sir. I didn't realise you were from Team One, please continue." He stepped to the side. "Take the fast elevator, sir, takes you to Lab Alpha in no time. Good luck with that strange blue box they found, been trying to scan the thing and it causes the machines to burn out. Between you and me, sir," He leaned closer, "I think that thing is Martian."

_I'm not from Mars!_ The Doctor wanted to scream but remembered where he was so he raised his brows in what he hoped was in a shocked expression. "_No!_ You don't say. Alien, huh?"

"Really it's none of my business, but over the last few years I've seen a lot of weird things in this Base. First they bring in that hedgehog and now that blue box. This place is pretty secure but if Eggman finds out they're here, he'll come a-knocking with his robot army and trash this place like a big bad wolf…"

The Doctor blinked. "Sorry, what did you say?"

"I didn't say anything. Where was I? Oh, yeah, head right to the elevator and don't forget to use your key card to reach the lower levels." With that, the guard gave him a last salute and carried on with his rounds.

The Doctor watched him go and then followed his directions; he waited for the lift doors to close before producing his screwdriver. A quick blast of sonic energy later and he was off, descending to the lower levels of the Base. A short ride later and the lift came to jolt; the Doctor stepped out and found himself in a long white passage. There were three large doors along it, each one decorated with a symbol from the Greek alphabet and a small hand scanner. The Time Lord grinned, pulled out his physic paper and headed for the furthest door- Lab Delta.

Lab Delta was one of the biggest labs the Doctor had seen. It was all white like the corridor; one side was lined with numerous tables all covered in papers, box files and broken pieces of expensive equipment. He dropped his coat on a clear space, slipped on his specs and picked up a scrap of paper. His eyes skimmed the sheet in record time; it was an E-Mail from Tails to Professor Pickle about components to reduce friction when running at fast speeds. His eyes narrowed as he read; lightweight and sturdy, the parts resembled those taken from blueprints of Metal Sonic-whatever that was- they would be made in Soleanna and shipped to Station Square ASAP. He put down the paper and blinked recalling the heavy box he helped carry for Amy and the metal hands Tails got excited about.

He turned full circle and found something on the other side that caught his curiosity. Nestled in between at least a dozen monitors was a medical capsule, the air was filled with a regular bleeping and he realised after a couple of seconds it was a heart beat.

Whatever was inside was alive.

"Oohh…What are you?" Swapping the white coat for his brown, he stepped forward and wiped the condensation off the glass; his expression grew to one of sadness. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."

Inside the capsule strapped in place by metal bands around his forearms, legs and chest stood a blue hedgehog. He was nude save the oxygen mask covering his face and his white socks, and to the Doctor, seemed to have gone over board on the steroids, as his arm muscles were huge compared to his little legs. But that wasn't the only thing that struck the Doctor as odd; around the hedgehogs' wrists and ankles and on the tips of his head quills were white markings.

The Time Lord peered closer and spotted another metal band wrapped around the hedgehogs' forehead, attached to it were a number of multi coloured wires. The wires came out of the capsule's top and connected to one of the monitors lining the wall. The Doctor found which one and looked closely so his nose almost touched the screen. The monitor showed two wobbly lines that were brainwaves belonging to the sleeping hedgehog, the Doctor frowned suddenly as the secondary line fared for a moment before settling back down.

"That's not good." He stepped back, slightly alarmed. "It's like a battle of the minds in there. One is yours and the other's…" He pinched the bridge of his nose "…maybe a little too powerful for you to stop." He pocketed his glasses. "Good thing I'm here then." He turned and grinned sheepishly. "Hello again!"

The white bat was standing just inside the door. She had changed out of her uniform and was now dressed in a hot-pink halter neck top (to accommodate her wings), brown hot pants, and a pair of black gloves that stopped at the elbow and matching knee high boots. Her very short hair was styled in an_ 'I've just dragged myself out of bed after a long night'_ ruffled kind of way with cute flicks at the nape of her neck. Her turquoise eyes twinkled in the bright light.

Next to her was the black hedgehog; his red stripes on his sticky out head quills and along his arms and legs caught the light as he moved making them shine blood red. His brooding, ruby eyes narrowed regarding the Doctor with a certain amount of interest. He was wearing gloves like Amy, cuffed with golden bands as well as on his ankles. On his feet he wore a pair of black and white trainers, the soles were red and concealed powerful jets that gave him his speed.

"There you are." She gave him a sultry smile. "You gave us a scare wondering around like that. But still…" She jerked her head towards the capsule. "You found him."

"Oh? Who is he?"

The black hedgehog spoke. "Sonic the Hedgehog, and you're going to help us cure him."

The Time Lord glanced at the capsule." So that's Sonic… _The_ Sonic? What happen to him? Hey, hold on!" The Doctor whirled around and folded his arms. " What do you mean I'm going to cure him? Who's going to make me? You?" The last part was directed at Shadow.

The hedgehog growled and stepped forward. "Whoa, whoa! Stop! Shadow, stop! You too, mister!" The bat stepped between them and placed a hand on each chest. She blinked hearing the Doctors' twin heartbeat, she looked up and he winked at her. "Uncle Chuck was right, you don't come from here." She let go and dragged Shadow back with her. "Who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor." He held out his hand.

"The Doctor? That's it?" He shrugged, she sighed. " OK…I'm Rouge," she smiled shaking his hand. "And broody boy is Shadow." Shadow just nodded. " So, _Doctor_, did Chuck give you the cliff notes on us?"

He nodded, scratching the underside of his chin. "He did and it's enough to give anyone a timey-whimey headache. From what I understand, five of you along with your arch enemy were transported here to Earth Prime from you world—Mobius Prime?" Rouge nodded. "That's OK but not only did you travel through time and space, you travel through the space _between_ spaces, namely the Void which means you're from another dimension. That should have been impossible…"

"It happened and here we are." She said with a shrug.

He raised a brow, "Oh it gets better. Five of you come from Mobius Prime from one dimension; Uncle Chuck fell through the Void by accident while doing his own space-time travel experiments, he comes from _another _Mobius from yet _another _dimension. You all ended up here because this world was the only one running closest to your worlds at the time of travel." He rubbed his face with a pained look. "Ouch, here we go timey-whimey headache time." Shadow smirked. "Don't get me started on _you_, Shadow the Hedgehog, you don't come from any Mobius at all! You were _born _right here on Earth Prime and do you know what the best bit is? None of you can get home because all the roads between dimensions are closed. Sealed off. Shut forever. You're all stuck here, so there!" He stuck out his tongue.

Shadow growled again and stepped forward. He took two steps when the alarms started blaring.

" **All personal this is a Code One. Non-friendly seen leaving Mystic Ruins at high speeds. Non-friendly is believed to be carrying two hostages. Last seen headed out of Mystic Ruins towards Highway 408. No units nearby available. Request urgent action. This is not a drill."**

Rouge paled. "That's near the Workshop! Shadow, Chaos Emerald?" The hedgehog shook his head. "Argh! Fat lot of good you are in a crisis. We need a plan, Doctor?" She turned to where the Doctor had been standing and found the space empty; somewhere from one of the other Labs came a deep wheezy sound, the two friends looked at each other in confusion and then ran towards Lab Alpha. A fierce wind whooshed out of the Lab, when the wind had died down; they stared in disbelief at the sight in front of them.

The blue box had gone.

--

Amy and Tails sat squashed together in the sidecar of the Egg tank. They were bound at the wrists and ankles, Amy was nursing a splitting headache and Tails had a cut lip. Just after they had been kidnapped, Tails had tried to fly out but to his horror found his tails had been gummed up while they were asleep. Amy wiggled against her ropes and groaned in frustration. Tails raised his brows.

"I can't reach my homing beacon. See if you can." She held up her hands. Tails nodded, worked his finger magic and a quick button press later the little blue light on Amy's bracelet was blinking out a steady rhythm. She smiled at him, "All we have to do now is wait."

Tails swallowed nervously and glance at their driver. "I hope it's a short wait." Amy smiled kindly and held his hands the best she could.

EK-05 turned its head back up the motorway. Something was troubling it; it bleeped. _"Unidentified signal detected. Increase speed."_ He turned the right way and eased its foot onto the accelerator. The caterpillars of the tank trundled along the tarmac, weaving in and out of the traffic and ignoring the livid swearing and annoyed beeping from the other drivers. But after a few seconds the noise changed to desperate slamming of brakes and alarming skids but there was _another_ noise drifting through the air.

_**VWORP, VWORP, VWORP!**_

The youngsters looked behind them, when they found the means of the strange noise their mouths dropped open for a second time.

" You."

" Are."

"Kidding."

"Me."

_**VWORP, VWORP, VWORP!**_

The blue box belonging to the Doctor was flying towards them! It was _flying_! It swooped in low and like the Egg tank weaved its way between the cars, whose drivers were now lining the grassy verges with their phones out and taking pictures. The TARDIS, with its little blue light flashing, drew up alongside. The double doors flew open and there stood the Doctor in his pinstriped suit, he gave them a grin, behind him sporting a bulky bandage around his head and working the controls after a brief lesson, was Uncle Chuck!

"Doctor!" They cheered, holding up their tied hands. "Doctor!"

The robot pressed a button, from the side on the tank a small spy-bot with a green eye floated around them, the hidden camera inside recording everything for its master. Again it floored the accelerator, the vehicle sped off, and Tails and Amy looked at each other then desperately at the Time Lord.

"Doctor! Help us!"

"Hold on!" He aimed the screwdriver at the robot's head. Sparks flew from its neck joint before the head came off completely. "Oohh…Ouch." The headless body clamped its hands on the steering wheel, it wasn't out yet but the tank was moving at a much slower speed now. The Doctor called back to Chuck, "Left hand down, Charles. _Left hand down!_" Chuck turned a big knob with odd writing on it around clockwise, the TARDIS groaned in protest before settling into her new rhythm and raced after the Egg tank. The Doctor laughed, "We got them now!"

Leaning out of the doors, the Doctor aimed the screwdriver at the ropes binding their wrists. Once free, Tails and Amy made quick work of the ones around their ankles. The spy-orb kept its eye trained on the _**policeman **_not wanting to miss a thing. The TARDIS drew level, the Doctor held out his arms to Tails.

"I got you. Jump!" Tails looked down at the blurry road, one false move and he'd be a fox pizza. "Come on. Jump!" Urged the Time Lord with a smile, "Trust me." The fox gulped loudly before jumping, he nearly missed but thankfully the Doctor grabbed him by the arms at the last second and pulled him inside the TARDIS. A quick pat on the back and Tails joined Chuck at the controls. "Amy, come on!"

Amy steadied herself against the bumpiness of the Egg tank, she whimpered and pushed her hair from her face. "OK …One, two…Three!" She jumped, arms and legs waving about in the air. She landed with a wobble inside the TARDIS doorway and was held steady by the Doctor. She grinned and gave him a big hug. "Thank you!"

"Aw, don't start. You'll start me off." He closed the doors, bounded up the ramp with her in tow and flicked numerous switches. "Nice flying Charlie-boy, I'll take it from here. Erm…" He saw the looks of complete bewilderment on their faces at the sheer size of the room and smiled weakly. "It's bigger on the inside that's all. Now, everyone hold on tight, time to leave." He held onto the consoles' edge, Chuck did the same, Tails wrapped his arms around the back of the padded seat next to them and Amy held onto the railings with an iron grip. Slamming a flat lever down, the engines of the TARDIS groaned, the wheezy changed timbre and the centre pillar rose and fell bathing them in green light.

The time ship soared back up the motorway and above the drivers, the air was filled with their cheers appreciation. The TARDIS twirled on the spot before shooting straight up into the clouds and away.

--

Eggman sat watching his monitors. His dark glasses glinted in their light, "My, my…what a clever little Doctor-man. And what a machine! I must get one; I'll change the design of course, make it more rounded." The main doors opened, he swished around in his seat and beamed. " Oh, my boy! Don't you look nice, all fleshy and normal."

"_I feel silly."_

"Nonsense, you look great! Everything is prepared in Shamar; under the cover of the party I'll _persuade_ the local children to join our ranks. Your brothers are waiting for you at the Palace. Be warned, G.U.N are sure to gate-crash and if this Doctor-man is with them…_kill him!_" EK-18 smirked and made his way to his awaiting helicopter. Eggman sneered at the screen showing the Doctor's face," There's only room for one Doctor on this planet… and that's _me_!"

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**Next chapter soon.**


	5. Chapter 4

**Oh, I'm good! Nobody has spotted it yet, Tee-hee!**

**In the last chapter I snuck in two words linked to the Doctor and no one's spotted it. These two words play big part weather or not the Doctor stays for another story, but that's up to you dear readers.**

**Please note that Tails and Rouge have a nephew/auntie relationship.**

* * *

Chapter 4. 

**Outer Space… Location, The ARK.**

The corridors of the once abandoned ARK were lit by emergency power only, the blinking red glow of the lamps made the pathways seem dangerous, which to be honest, they were. Carried along the dusty air vents, the sounds of repairs drifted around the vast space accompanied by another sound, one that _was_ dangerous.

The metal men belonging to Eggman and loving named by their creator as EK's marched with purpose in and out of the many control rooms on board the Space Station. About 15 days ago, using the maps Eggman had stolen, they found the room they wanted, the weapon inside was in dire need of repair so Eggman sent them a work force using his Scrambler transport to get the job done.

A small number of EK's approached a group of the workforce who had just finished modifications to the weapons inner systems. Now that the work was done inside, improvements to the outer shell of the ray gun needed to be done and for that the workforce had to be up-graded for outside use.

"_Prepare to be up-graded. All personnel will follow." _

"We obey." The workforce, the kidnapped children from the hostels stood to attention and filed out in a single line behind the leading EK. One of them was wearing scruffy trainers with holes in the soles and a cheap watch that now had a cracked face—little Billy of Station Square.

The EK's led the children down to the depths of the Colony, down to the dank and decaying chambers. The vast area they arrived at was packed with rows of endless booths, the smell coming from them was revolting and yet the kids seemed unaffected. Eggman's lackeys placed one child in front of each booth so they faced the battered doors.

"_You will proceed."_ The doors of the chambers opened bathing each child in the same red glow as the outer corridors._"You will be up-graded for the good and glory of the Eggman Empire. Proceed."_

As one the children moved forward towards the lights. The doors slammed shut behind them, the machines inside started up and then came the terrifying screams followed by the slicing of axes through limbs and ending in the whirring and clacking of metal. The booths bleeped as the programme ended and the EK's stood waiting, the doors of the chambers opened simultaneously and the children stepped out all gleaming and up-graded ready to work outside in Space.

"_You are now like us. Confirm."_

"_Confirm."_ They chorused, _"We are now part of the Eggman Empire. We are now EK regiment Gamma Four."_ They turned and marched after the older EK's ready to get to work on the ray gun's outer shell.

--

Back on the planet below it was night and that meant off hours for Rouge. The bat was in a state, having found out about the chase she had raced home and changed into a comfy tracksuit and sneakers. She knew at once that she had found the right hospital because in the car park sat the blue box belonging to the mysterious Doctor.

The bat stormed into the reception and headed to the children's ward, rounding a corner she heard familiar laughing and smiled _Thank goodness he's safe._ She pushed the doors open and saw him sitting up in bed sporting a nasty cut lip, a stark red against the whiteness of his fuzzy muzzle.

"Oh, you're alive!" She bounded up to him and crushed him a big hug. Pulling away, she inspected his face and tails. "Anything broken? A bump on the head? How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Auntie Rouge! I'm fine, really." Tails pushed her hands away.

" Well, if you're sure…" The cub nodded. Rouge sat on the edge of his bed and smoothed out his tails tips. He raised a brow at her and she stopped. "Sorry. I just don't want to see you hurt, you're _my _responsibility until Sonic gets back."

"Which could be sooner than you think," said the Doctor from his place beside Amy, fiddling with a small travel radio. The contents of a telephone and the ward's TV remote were scattered on top of the bed table, he nodded his thanks as Shadow passed him a long yellow wire and a collection of circuit boards. "Thank you. Oh, yes! Just a tweak here and…BINGO!" The radio bleeped, the Doctor adjusted the aerial so it pointed straight up, the lights on the radios' front blinked out a steady rhythm. "Odd bird, it's pointing towards the sky. What's up there, then?"

It was Shadow who answered, " Nothing much, a robotic Moon, some stars and…"

"And…" Prompted the Doctor.

The black hedgehog shuddered. "The ARK."

"Oh…what's that then?"

Amy reached over and gave Shadow's hand a gentle squeeze and a soft smile. From his seat by the window, Chuck, who was now wearing a turban like bandage raised his brows at the sight. Rouge and Tails shared the tiniest of smirks and the Doctor looked over his glasses at them. The hedgehog took a deep breath before talking,

"The ARK was once a top research facility working on many W.O.M.D's. One was a cannon so powerful it could destroy a whole planet. Another was known as The Ultimate Life Form and another was called Project Shadow."

The Doctor blinked, "You were born on the ARK? How old are you, Shadow?" He shook his head. "Second thought don't answer, you might be older than me and that itself is an achievement." He pocketed his specs and sat back in his chair. "Do continue."

" The Government shut down the Colony and I was captured. A while back Dr Eggman freed me, and I helped him gather the seven Chaos Emeralds to power one of the weapons. Something went wrong once the seventh Emerald was in place; the ARK became a huge death trap on a collision course with Earth Prime. Sonic and my self changed into our Super forms, stopped it and made the ARK safe again. Since then the Government have condemned the Space Station, no one's allowed up there."

The Time Lord tapped his radio, " My bad mojo thingy says otherwise. Someone's up there now and poking about. It might be your _friend _Dr Eggman." He rubbed his hands gleefully, "It couldn't hurt to check it out."

Amy grinned, bouncing on the bed, "Does this mean we have a plan?"

He grinned back, "Maybe, but first…" He jumped from his seat and slipped on his coat. "I need a big favour," Slipping his arms around Chuck and Tails' shoulders he whispered low and quick. Once he was done the elderly hedgehog and fox looked up at him and then they nodded. " Good men! Have her ready ASAP. Now Amy and Shadow," Shadow raised his brows and Amy smiled, "I'm sure Tails' creation is a wonderful girl but I don't want her to _feel _all machine. So what I need from you, black hedgehog, is anything belonging to Sonic the Hedgehog."

Shadow looked blankly at him, Amy perked up with a suggestion. "What about my friendship boxes? I've got one for each of us, there's bound to be something in there."

"Brilliant! Shadow, you go with Amy and find those boxes. Now Amy, I'm sure you have some old clothes doing nothing, right?" She nodded, "Your job is to grab a small bag of items and us meet back at the workshop …is that someone's phone?"

"Huh? Oh, bugger!" Rouge fished in her tracksuit pockets, pulling out her mobile she cringed reading the number and flipped it opened. "Hello, Commander. Yes, we're all here including the Doctor. OK, I see. Yes, sir. Only us four, sir? Yes, sir. Good bye, sir." She pocketed the device. "Git."

"What's up?" Shadow pushed back his quills.

Rouge sighed, " There's a meeting in a couple of hours. You, Amy and me are to attend along with the Doctor. We've got a lead on **E-NET** and the next city chosen for the trial run."

"OK. That shouldn't be a problem, right Amy?" She shook her head. "We'll meet you at HQ after we've done the Doctor's tasks."

The Doctor grinned, " Great! Now for the hard part of my plan. I need to get back inside your HQ and have a word with our furry hedgehog friend. I sensed something before and I must find out what it is before I try and help him." He turned to Rouge and offered her his arm, " Miss Bat, would you like to accompany me to HQ?" He flashed her a cheeky grin.

She giggled, linking her arm through his. "I'll be honoured, Doctor."

--

The TARDIS landed back in Lab Alpha. Rouge hopped out her expression complete shock. She slowly walked around the box in a trance, when she reached the front she found the Doctor waiting for her leaning casually against the double doors.

"You OK?" He asked softly.

"Yeah," She grinned, "You're _definitely_ not from around here, mister."

The Doctor returned her smile and grabbed her hand. "Right, time to have a chat with the thing inside our hedgehog pal." They entered the Lab and together slowly and carefully transferred Sonic from the capsule to an ordinary trolley. The Doctor took off his coat and suit jacket and rolled up his shirtsleeves. " This could get ugly, Rouge, so I'd sit back." He leaned over the head of the trolley and placed his fingertips on the hedgehogs temples as gently as he could. "That's it, Sonic…talk to me, I can help you."

"Doctor… Doctor, he twitched!" Rouge pointed to Sonic's hand, it was flexing and contracting; the grey claws scratched the trolleys surface.

"We're getting somewhere, now…" He drew back and stood and the foot of the trolley. " I seek audience with the being possessing this hedgehog in accordance with the laws of the Shadow Proclamation."

A growl came from the beasts' mouth. _**"You know the ancient laws?"**_

"Yes. Identify yourself. Tell me who you are so I can help you. Your possession of this child is compressing him to death!"

"_**The child is mine!" **_The beast spat._** " I have waited billions of years for him, he was too good before for me to fully posses him and I could only possess him at night turning him into this Were- hog,"**_

"Were-hog?" Rouge frowned, "Wait… Tails told me about you, about an adventure months back. Eggman unleashed a being called Dark Gaia, it was unstable and somehow Sonic was infected. By day he was normal Sonic but by night,"

"He transformed…" The Doctor scratched his head, "but you shouldn't even exist. Dark Gaia is an old folk tale from years back since the Dark Times. "

"_**I exist in the darkness in hearts, of your world and all worlds beyond. I am forever in the shadows waiting." **_He growled deeply,_** " The child is strong, he still fights me even though he knows it's useless. If you wish to help him, take out his soul and free him thus freeing me."**_

Rouge nibbled her bottom lip. "Doctor?"

The Doctor shook his head. " There has to be another way…think, dummy, _think_!" He looked down at the trolley and narrowed his eyes. Sonic's right hand was scratching out a pattern on the surface, he peered closer and then motioned Rouge to take a look. The bat raised a brow and mouthed _Chaos Emerald?_ The small part of Sonic deep inside the consciousness of the Were-hog was trying to help them. The Doctor smirked, "OK, say I _do_ cut out his soul, what then?"

"_**The hero will die and I will join the Knights of the Empire. There is no one on this pathetic planet capable of saving him. My mistresses plan is foolproof and unstoppable,"**_ He began to thrash about on the trolley, **_" you will all perish!"_**

"Doctor, do something!" Rouge screamed as the beast reached for her with his claws.

"Hold on, hold on! There!" He grabbed a needle and jammed it into the thick muscles on the Were-hog's arms, at once the beast slowed his attacks and settle back onto the trolley. The Were- hog started to snore softly and they knew they were safe. The Doctor wiped his fore head with a weak smile. "That was too close."

"_Close_, huh? Look!!" She showed him her top; a neat tear was along the middle where Sonic had caught her. "You owe me a top, buster." She mumbled, unzipping the garment, dropping it to the floor and smoothed out her T-shirt.

"Aw, come on. We know that Sonic is still in there and that we can save him, all we need is one of those Chaos Emeralds."

She thought hard. "Well…getting an Emerald won't be hard, there's two in the vault here. But where are we going to get a body capable of storing Sonic's essence with out burning it out?"

The Doctor smirked at her, "Tails and Chuck are on it as we speak." The Lab phone started to ring, he went to answer it." 'Ello? Ya-huh…ooh, really?" He checked the wall clock and made a face. "Yeah, we're on our way."

"Meeting?"

"Meeting." He said, returning the phone to its cradle and putting on his jacket and coat. A playful smile lit up his face. "I'll tell them it was your fault, shall I?" Grabbing the edge of the trolley, he carefully returned Sonic back into the medical chamber.

The bat threw an empty test tube at him and growled softly before lending him a hand.

--

The Commander had them seated around a big table, much like the one at the workshop only less cluttered. Half a dozen officers sat dotted around along with Shadow and Rouge one side, Amy and the Doctor down the other; the Commander sat at the head waving a thick file in his chubby hands.

"Here's the battle plan. Two teams-Gamma and Tango. Team Gamma will be made up of Agents Shadow and Rouge and the left side of the table; they will go in at the front of the Royal Palace dressed to the occasion, intelligence has confirmed that the city of Shamar is the next target for **E-NET**." The two agents nodded. The Commander sniffed and then continued. "Team Tango will be Amy Rose, the Doctor and the right side of the table. Your group will influence an entrance at the rear of the property under cover."

"As what?" Piped Amy, who had read the file and was now frowning at the Commander. The Doctor leaned over, whispered in her ear and she opened her mouth slowly. "Ooh…good plan, Doctor." She quickly shared the Time Lords' plan to the others, " Are we all agreed?" They nodded. "OK, we got our disguises sorted. How do we get in?"

The Commander handed each group a series of passes, the Doctor was left out, the Commander shook his head. "Sorry, only enough time for G.U.N personnel, but just out of interest, _how_ will you get pass security?"

The Doctor, with all eyes on him, pulled out his battered leather wallet and flapped it about. He smirked at the old soldier's appalled look, "I'll think of something."

* * *

**More soon!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Urgh! I **_**hate**_** mothers! My mum thought she'd **_**help**_** me by sorting out some of my clutter and guess what? Amongst the clutter were my notes on this story, my back up. I'm doing the remaining chapters by memory so it's going to take a while, that and the fact my mum's a computer hog up dates will be few and far between.**

**Enough with my problems enjoy guys.**

* * *

Chapter 5.

**Shamar, Royal Palace, three days later...**

The TARDIS was parked in a nearby alleyway, its blue colouring stood out against the sandy browns of the local buildings in the Square. Did anyone care? No they did not. A group of people dressed in their best passed, and crossed the street to enter the grand structure decorated with brightly coloured streamers.

Two guests joined the long line and waited for entrance. Shadow was dressed a grey suit and an open neck pale blue shirt, beside him stood Rouge in a strapless figure hugging pink gown and long white gloves. Both looked over the road and spotted a loan figure quickly enter the blue box and breathed a collected sigh of relief, at least Amy had managed had get here on time, all they needed now were the others agents and the Doctor to show his face. What was taking him and them so long?

Amy quickly closed the double doors behind her and scrambled up the ramp in the control room; her eyes took a few seconds to adjust to the low lights. She looked around; the Doctor was nowhere in sight which was odd because he never left his beloved time machine, not for long anyway. She was about to call out when the doors leading to the (she could only assume) inner sanctuary of the TARDIS opened and the man himself ambled in doing up his white shirt with a slight frown on his face.

"Argh, black tie. I _hate _black tie." He slipped into the black jacket and sorted out the cuffs, "When ever I wear this, something bad happens." The old engines of the TARDIS hummed gently, he realised he wasn't alone, turned, saw Amy and grinned, " How long have you been there?"

She feign innocence, "Not long. I like your suit."

"Uh, thanks. It won't stay this clean for long though. It's kind of my bad luck charm; the last three times I've worn this an insect monster attacked me, a giant space ship nearly crashed into Earth- not your Earth another Earth- and what else? There was another time… something to do with a party like this one and…" He shook his head. " Never mind. I'll get it later I'm sure." Turning the computer screen into a big mirror he got to work on his bow tie.

Amy shrugged out of her own coat and peered over his shoulder to check her makeup and hair. "Hm, I went for paleness. Does it look OK?"

He grinned, "Looks fine and the outfit isn't bad either." Once making sure that the tie was tidy, the Doctor switched the screen back to its weird symbol screen saver and stepped back. "Right, tool check. Sonic screwdriver, glasses, stethoscope and… Physic paper." He placed each item into his pockets and nodded with satisfaction. " Oh and most importantly, new sneakers." He flashed her a black Converse covered foot with a wiggle.

Amy nodded, " Yup, right behind you on that one, Doctor." She adjusted the small white apron around her waist, smoothed out a wrinkle on her black maids outfit and showed him her own boot covered feet, one thing she'd learned about being partnered with the Doctor- there was a lot of running involved. Better be prepared." So, are we ready?"

"We are." He paled a little but then shook it off. Making his way down the ramp towards the doors he paused and offered her his arm. The pair walked down a side alley to arrive at a small door. " Ready?" The Doctor fished in his pocket for his paper of tricks while Amy flashed the guard her invite. Once the guard, who was sporting a nice scar on his cheek, had seen both papers he let them in with a slight grunt and a stiff nod. "So far so good." muttered the Time Lord as they entered the kitchen; already the others G.U.N agents were in place under cover. " Why thank you!" He looked at the silver tray that had just been handed to him and a smile crept across his features, "Oh, nibbles! I _love_ nibbles!"

"For the guest. No picking." The headwaiter in a white jacket scowled at him. " Get going." He pointed to the swing doors that one of the G.U.N officers had just gone through.

The Doctor gave him a quick salute, "Done and doner." He winked at Amy and followed the ever-growing line of black suits into the main hall.

Amy quickly picked up a platter of chips and dips and followed his lead. She caught up to him as he was doing his second circuit, " Why did we come from the kitchens? What's the point?"

The Doctor gave a lady in a white dress a forced smile before turning away to another group, " From my experience you get the _really_ good gossip working behind the scenes. Trust me." He pouted at her when she didn't return his gleeful grin. "C'mon, we can do this."

She shrugged, huffed a stray strand of hair from her hair and sighed. "M' Kay."

He nudged her arm playfully, "Atta girl! Just remember to swagger about like you own the place and you'll do fine." He gave her a grin as he wandered off to a group of guests that were waving him over.

The pink hedgehog took calming breaths and placed a fake cheery smile on her lips before walking towards a hungry group of party-goers. " I can do this," she said under her breath, "nothing to it, just another day saving the world." She caught Shadow out of the corner of her eye, saw him smirk and suddenly felt much better. _Maybe I can keep the outfit when this is over._

During her rounds she passed large bay windows and peeked outside, the gardens stretched for miles marked with many paths and cute knick-knacks, by the doors however stood two large statues. The pink hedgehog tilted her head to get a better look at them, to be honest they looked pretty ugly and completely out of place all metal and shiny. Hearing one of the guests call her, Amy shrugged and went back to her under cover duties. As she walked away one of the statues slowly copied her actions by tilting their head a little as they scanned the inside of the building.

--

Three hours into the mission Mr Roberto made his grand appearance. The crowd hushed as the lights went down and a man walked onto the stage into a single spot light. The crowd cheered him; he was a slim man with brilliant blue eyes like sapphires and his pods were embedded with red blinking studs. He straighten his tie and raised his hands for quiet.

"Good evening and welcome. I am Irvin Roberto, inventor of **E-NET**and your most humble servant." The crowd cheered again. "Thank you, thank you. Tonight I'm proud to announce that the beautiful city of Shamar, has been chosen for the second trail run of my revolutionary ear pods." A couple of glamour models walked out and stood beside him, they were wearing a set of plain ear pods. The crowd were quiet while Roberto talked about the complex details of the pods inner workings." Your Government has been kind enough to grant me the all clear to mass produce, starting from tomorrow my representatives will be setting up shops in these marked locations," A holographic map came up, on it were numerous dots showing said warehouses. "All plain ear pods will be half price and as I'm a kind man the first 500 customers will be eligible for free up-grades." He gave a half smile, "This is only the beginning of a brand new empire of technology."

The crowds newest round of applause and cheers were quickly drown out by breaking glass and tormented screaming. The metal men Amy had seen in the grounds were gate crashing the party! The robots moved as one forming a line and stomping towards the stage, towards Roberto himself. In the confusion two robots managed to haul him away while the others sniffed out potential candidates for up grading.

The Doctor, having seen what was happening, was pushing himself forward fighting the wave of terrified guests as he made his way to the stage. When he got there he was too late, all that was left of Roberto was his tie and…a glove? The Doctor picked it up and turned it over in his hand, his brown eyes narrowed.

For it wasn't a glove. It was a hand, a hand made from a material like latex but thinner.

_I need answers. Now! _Deciding it would be better to examine the glove later the Doctor slipped it into his pocket and stood with an annoyed grunt and grabbed the mic, "All right everyone, just stay calm. Calm. Sshh, sshh, sshh." His expression grew serious, "Now, metal guys. What do you want?"

" _We want you to be like us."_ One stepped forward, as it spoke a thin line at the bottom of its face glowed green._" You will taken and up-graded, you will be part of the new Empire."_ It raised a fist and scanned him after a second or two it bleeped. _" You are new. Sensors show a binary vascular system. More data required. All units fall back, repeat fall back."_

As one the robots retreated back the way they came, the Doctor chose this time to act and ran after a lone robot that looked a little lost and was lumbering out a side door. Rouge caught his eye, and nodded but before she took a step she made a quick wardrobe change. Taking the hem of her dress the bat gave it a tug, she ripped it in half allowing her legs more movement, dropping the two strips of fabric and kicking off her shoes she smiled and ran after the Doctor.

Once outside she feared she'd lost him for good. She was about to cross the road when two unmarked lorries rushed past her nearly knocking her down. As the second lorry when by she caught the slimmest glimpse of a round figure standing in the mouth of nearby alleyway. She shook her head to clear it. Why would Eggman be here of all places? Any plans to go after him, if it were he, were cut short by a startled yet manly yell from the shadows.

She took off and found the Doctor down an alley being backed into a corner by the robot its mini gun out and primed. The Doctor was panicking, trying to reason with it and she had to smile again as his stutters reached her ears, " N-Now hold on a tick! Just a-a small, tiny tick. I can help you. I-I can help!"

"Doctor!" She skidded to a halt, quickly pulled up the ruined hem of her skirt revealing her shapely leg and a garter pouch. Fishing inside the bat took out an object no bigger than a tennis ball and took aim. "Oi, ugly!" She threw the device with all her might, it attached to the robots' side as it turned towards her. At contact the tin man shuddered violently in a shower of yellow sparks before falling onto its' back stunned and dazed. Rouge smiled in relief and huffed loose hair from her eyes, "You OK, sugar?" she asked a completely bemused Doctor.

" I… Fine, thanks. What was that?" He nodded at her leg.

"You like? It's an EMP hand grenade. Neat, huh?"

The Doctor nodded walking around the fallen robot, he loosened his tie and popped opened the top buttons of his collar. Slipping on his glasses he squatted and leaned forward getting a closer look. Rouge peered at it over his shoulder he could feel her fingers trembling through the thin fabric of his jacket.

" I know this design," she murmured, "it's just like the burn marks on the warehouse walls. It's one of my ghosts!" A frown formed on her face and she slowly back away. "These robots have been taking the children? What for?"

The Doctor was solemn, "For up-grading. The robots prey on the most helpless of the human race, take them somewhere and do this to them. I'm so sorry." He rested a hand on its arm, "There's nothing I can do." He rubbed the back of his neck and took off the glasses. "The best thing I can do now is take it back to the Lab try and find a weakness."

" I'll make the call."

He nodded his thanks and stood, old joints creaking. Something wasn't adding up. He was sent here for a reason and so far his big brain hadn't figured it out. He sighed deeply taking in the robots appearance, "It's been branded. What kind of person brands things? A part from cowboys I guess." On the chest plate was a circle with an E in it centre. " Something beginning with E. I love puzzles, don't you?"

"Not really, but if it floats your boat by all means…" She clicked her phone shut. "The team is on the way. So what do you think?"

" Well, I haven't been here long but judging by your expression you know who it is anyway. If you want my professional opinion, I'm going to say…Eggman." Rouge nodded, "Thought so…well, what shall we call you?" He said to the still metal man at their feet.

"Dark Gaia said something about Knights in the Lab, remember? And Eggman is know worldwide naming things after himself; Egg Hawk, Egg Dragoon, Egg Carrier... He's built something like this before, I think he called them his Egg Knights maybe it's an improved model." She blinked, suddenly remembering something important, "He was here! Eggman was here, I saw him in a town. Why would he be here?"

His face was hard. "The attack on the party was a diversion allowing Eggman to snatch the kiddies for his robots. But why was I sent here?" He leaned his back against the wall and closed his eyes working it out. " Branded robots stealing the homeless for their own needs. Fancy ear pods, a craze sweeping the world. Robots with handle bar shaped heads…" His eyes snapped opened with realisation and he looked down, "_Handle bar shaped heads!_ Oh, I'm _thick_!" He paced, shoving his hands into his hair and fisting big chucks, "I know why I was sent here, and of course I can help."

" Doctor? Are you OK?"

He turned to her a mad gleam in his eyes and a smile to match. " Cybermen!" He crowed in triumph, "These Egg Knights are this worlds' version of Cybermen. Now I know what I'm dealing with I can stop it, but I'll need help."

A black truck with G.U.N on the side backed into the alleyway. A group of men in navy uniforms lifted the Egg Knight and put it safely into the rear of the vehicle. Rouge watched it go and then turned to the Doctor, the two started walking back towards the Palace.

"What do you need? You know the Freedom Fighters are right behind you."

The Doctor grinned, " That's great because I've just had a theory for a idea. All I need are some supplies from the TARDIS, one of those sparkling Chaos Emeralds of yours and Sonic the Hedgehogs' one-billionth gold ring. If it works…"

She looked up with hope in her eyes, "You mean…"

He nodded and led the way back to the TARDIS, "Sonic the Hedgehog will be up and about in no time."

--

A quick trip to Mystic Ruins, a few hours later and the gang met up at G.U.N HQ. The Doctor led them into Lab Alpha, behind him Tails and Chuck rolled a hospital trolley covered with a sheet. Next was Amy holding a small box containing a chunk of gold, bringing up the rear were Shadow and Rogue carrying a safety box with a white gemstone inside- the Grey Emerald.

The Doctor got to work quickly, he took his supplies from the TARDIS and hook up Were-Sonic to the figure under the sheet via specially made metal helmets. Taking the gold from Amy he vanished under the cloth placing the gold into a slot in the robot's chest compartment with his screwdriver, once that was done he carefully closed the breast plate and nodded.

"OK, place the Emerald into that slot," He indicated to another of his machines, which looked like a toaster with an overly large eggcup on top. " Turn the red dial all the way right and step back." Rouge put the gem in the slot, at once steel clamps held the rock in place, she twirled the red knob all the way right and the machine chattered to life. She jumped and scooted next to Tails quickly and held his hand tightly.

The Time Lord jumped from Were- Sonic to the trolley adjusting this and that. He gave them a manic grin, grabbed hold of a big flat lever and yanked. From Were-Sonic a blue mist coiled around the wires of his metal cap, the smoke drifted into the gemstone, which in turn turned blue, the mist then travelled down the wires to the sleeping figure on the trolley. Suddenly the Doctors machine gave a groan and started to smoke and spark violently, the Doctor vaulted over the trolley and wrenched the Emerald from it moorings. Handing it back to Shadow he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck hoping it was enough, though he had his doubts about the resistance at the start.

Everyone gathered around the cloth-covered trolley with baited breaths, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. And then…the figure under the sheet moaned, they sat up slowly revealing tuffy ears, a black face framed and wavy honey toned hair. Hazel eyes narrowed at the group of animals, the overly big white room and the thin man dressed in a black suit. Their eyes settled on the bulky form of Were-Sonic and they gasped, with dread creepy into every fibre of her being, the black cat drew up her white paws and stared at them.

Then Sonic did what anyone would have done in his situation.

He screamed.

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**Up date soon.**


	7. Chapter 6

**This one might be a bit off, sorry in advance.**

**All reviews welcome.**

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Chapter 6. 

Sonic was back, sort of. Despite it being a very wacky and unsafe idea by the Doctor, it worked. Using a psycho-graph Sonic's essence, his very soul had been transferred and was now safe from harm inside Carla the Androids' body- the only body in the whole world capable of holding him. The only reason that Sonic had not broken free yet was the melted hunk of gold in the cats' chest, upon doing some scans the Doctor found that Sonic's one billionth ring had it own mystical properties. He just wasn't sure how long they would last, they might last a week or hopefully a year. But the atmosphere in the workshop was the same; everyone was overjoyed to have the gang back as a whole.

Everyone apart from Sonic it seemed.

It had been days since the botched sting operation at Shamar, Shadow and Rouge had been stuck at HQ under mountains of paperwork cleaning up the mess and trying to explain what went wrong but it all fell onto deaf ears of the Commander. Chuck and Tails spent the time in the workshop going over the files that Rogue lent them about Eggman, the Egg Knights and **E-NET**, now they knew that all three were connected they had to find a way of stopping it. The Doctor used his time wisely setting up all sorts of tests to find out more about the odd glove he'd found on the stage, he journeyed back and forth between TARDIS and workshop gathering trinkets to make the tests run faster. Amy was left with the huge task of settling in the newest member of the Freedom Fighters, which she was doing now in Sonic's old room…

"Here we go, I brought a few things as requested." She tipped the contents of her backpack onto the bed covers, " I think they're fit you, nothing too pink"

The tuxedo marked feline looked at her blankly in her fluffy towel. There was a beat and then, " I know about you and Shadow."

Amy blinked, "Oh, OK. I wasn't expecting that…yet, gearing myself to tell you." She began to fold a T-shirt absentmindedly, her cheeks pinking. " Yeah, we're together. H-How did you…"

She shrugged, "It's complicated. When I was, y'know, asleep," Amy nodded, "I was… it felt like I was flying, I could see all of you. What you were doing in my absence, and..."

"Sonic…" she started towards her but the feline backed away nervously. " It's OK, friend, remember?"

"Friend." The cat nodded and pulled the towel tighter around herself. " I-I like t-to get dressed now."

"Uh, yeah. Sure. Take all the time you need." Amy grabbed her bag and the dirty pair of blue PJ's, she wrinkled her nose at them, "I'll get these cleaned up for you," she grinned, "Must be some part of Sonic in there because these are his favourite blue ones with the mini chilli-dogs on them. If you need anything…" she trailed off, nodded kindly and left her to it.

The cat looked around the small room; she moved to the small dresser under the windows where she saw that morning had come and looked at the group of photos on its top. Her new hazel toned eyes narrowed slightly at one particular picture-one of a blue hedgehog. She picked it up with trembling hands and carefully took it out of its frame. A strong emotion rose up deep within her as she stared at it, crumpling the corners of the paper she ripped it into tiny pieces and dumped them into the waste paper bin. Seeing the others the cat gathered them all and deposited them the same way, tears streaming down her white cheeks. Breath coming in hard pants she sat on the bed and held her head in her hands, her honeyed locks falling over her face creating a curtain.

"Uh, knock- knock." Came a male voice, one that was strange to her, from the doorway. A man in a scruffy brown suit gave her a weak grin before entering the room carrying something blue in his right hand. " Oh, sorry. If you were having a moment…"

" No. I'm OK now." Quickly wiping her eyes she turned back to the tiny mountain of clothes and pulled out a faded pink T-top. "This will do." She lifted a brow at the stranger.

" Oh, right." He turned his back to her while she dressed. Once done she coughed quietly and he whirled around. " Nice choice. How do you feel?"

" Like a girl." She folded her arms defensively across her new lumpy chest, made a face and dropped them. " So you're the guy who saved me, huh? You got a name or what?"

" Yes, introductions. I'm the Doctor." He held out his free hand. " I brought you back from the brink of death. You can thank me anytime you want."

" I won't."

The Doctor sat on the edge of the bed, " I don't understand. I saved you; you were being compressed to death, Sonic. You should be happy that you're in this state and not in some Hell dimension."

" I _WAS_ HAPPY!" She screamed at the top of her lungs causing him to jump.

"What do you mean?"

The cat plonked herself next to him, ran a hand over her face and spoke slowly, " I was happy. As I was lying there something was tugging me, calling to me to come away. At first I didn't want to because you know-hero, but I did, just once and it was…I was... Where ever I was going to it felt… nice, warm and safe." The Doctor's expression grew to one of suddenly realisation. " I think it was heaven," she said turning to face him, fresh tears splashing onto her white cheeks leaving salty tracks, " and you lot tore me, ripped me away because you _cared_. If I wasn't in some Hell dimension I am now. _This_ is Hell."

" I…we had no idea. Your friends were just trying to help." He handed her a spotted hankie for her nose. " I know it's hard getting use to a new body, been there myself."

"You're a Time King or something, yeah? And you have special powers that stop you from dying. I over heard Unc and Tails."

"_Lord_." He corrected her. " I'm a Time Lord and I'm over 900 years old. And I do have powers to cheat death."

She raised her brows in astonishment and gave back the hankie. "Really? You don't look 900. So what's this power you have then?"

The Doctor sat back comfortably, she did the same. "It's called regeneration. If I'm close to death or fatally wounded I can change my body into a new one. This body I'm in now is my tenth. So, yeah, I know what you're going through."

" Totally. So…err, do you think you could, y'know, help me adjust? Start over because…" she looked down at herself. "Damn!"

He smiled, "Why not. First things first a new name." Fishing about in his pockets he pulled out a pink piece of notepaper. "This one. I think you'll like it and it's goes with your top."

The cat peered at the neatly written word and smiled softly with admiration, "Hm. Amy thinks of everything." At that moment a loud gurgled growl erupted from the Doctors' stomach, he grinned sheepishly and she laughed, the first time since getting back and she found it refreshing. " Sounds like you're in need of a chilli-dog, a whole plate full."

" I did ask about bananas for breakfast but nobody has any. Bananas are good."

"OK, we go out to Joe's Diner. She should be open now, makes a mean breakfast and her banana milkshakes are to die for. I need to get out, stretch these new legs of mine and just…_get out_." She jumped up was half way to the door when the Doctor coughed, she turned and put hands on hips, "What?"

He held out the blue thing in his hand, "Maybe you should finish dressing."

Plucking the garment from his fingers she opened it and blinked, "This one of Unc's. Does he know you pinched it?" Slipping the tailored waistcoat over her shoulders she looked at herself in the mirror and grinned at the Doctor's reflection." Well, how do I look?"

" Great! Now lets eat!"

--

Soon the Doctor and the cat were sitting in a booth at Joes', the Doctor was attacking his breakfast with gusto and the cat had never seen a sight like it! Egg yolk and bean juice splattered the Doctor's tie and jacket front and he didn't take a blind bit of notice.

"Here ya go, hon." Joe gave them a smile placing another loaded tray onto their table. She was a nice lady with a friendly face and black hair that was constantly greasy as she was head chef and owner. She gave the cat a funny look,"Don't I know you? Aren't you Tail's robot, Carla?"

"Actually, I'm a newer model," went the cat holding out a paw." I'm Sola."

" Sola, eh? OK. This is for you," She slid in beside her and placed a paper cup in front of her filled with some kind of paste. " specially made by Tails for your simple digestive system, kinda like baby food, but much tastier. Try some." Dipping a spoon into the cup she held it out to her. Sola looked at the offered object suspiciously, the Doctor stopped long enough to give her a nod of encouragement; she shrugged and shoved it into her mouth. A tiny gasp of delight left her lips and she attacked it with the same amount of gusto the Doctor had done with his food. " Now we're best buds… Who's your friend?"

The Doctor wiped his chin with a napkin. " I'm the Doctor. You must be Joe, love the place and the grub." He grinned taking a drink from his yellow milkshake and smacked his lips. "AH! Can't beat banana, no sir."

" Ta. Ever since Eggman destroyed my last place it's been a struggle, but I've had help, mostly from Sonic the Hedgehog. Have you heard that he's in a coma and that he might not come out of it? Shame. He's a good kid, a bit head strong and brash but nice." She got up and cleaned away empty dishes from the next table.

Sola stopped eating and pushed the half full cup away. "I don't feel so good."

"I think we should get you back to the workshop. Nice talking Joe, see ya." The Doctor grabbed the paper cup for himself before ushering Sola out the diner doors and onto the streets. Once outside they found themselves walking in no particular direction, the light breeze made Sola constantly push her hair from her face the Doctor fumbled with his jacket pockets and took out an elastic band. She nodded her thanks and pulled her messy locks into a serviceable ponytail. Rounding a corner into the back streets Sola growled, and held out an arm stopping the Doctor in his tracks. " What is it?"

Without giving him an answer Sola gave him an almighty shove out the way. Just in time too as a huge lighting bolt came out of nowhere and struck the pavement where they had been moments before. He rolled to a safe spot, looked down and groaned spying his suit now covered with toffee coloured goop. His eyes widened as his sensitive hearing caught the unmistakable sounds of a struggle. _Sola!_ He scrambled to his feet only to be floored by a punch in the jaw from a chunky metal fist; blinking away stars the Doctor looked up and blanched as an Egg Knight stomped towards him.

The feline was in the middle of the street with another Egg Knight, the robot blocked her attacks with ease. Using what Carla had learned from the other Freedom Fighters, Sola jumped and somersaulted over the Knights head, it turned to meet her she flipped backwards and hit it under its chin, the robot stumbled back in shock, spying the gap she crouched and span landing a flick-kick to its ankles. The Knight fell onto its back with an electronic grunt as she went to stamp its arms it lumbered back to its feet, the cat grinned and ran full pelt, without Sonic's homing attack she'd have to improvise. Waiting for the right moment she jumped again, the Knight thinking she was going to go over its head raise it arms to catch her. Sola instead planted both heels into it midsection the Knight shot off like a silver bullet, smacking into the power generator of the pizza place at the other end of the alley in a dazzling display of sparks.

High above on a nearby rooftop watching the fight below stood a lone figure. His rounded shape wrapped nicely in a woollen coat its tails flapping it the light winds. Eggman's moustache bristled eagerly, there had to be a reason why the cat abomination was back on line and he was going to find out. He pressed a hand to his earpiece, spoke clearly and waited.

The Doctor pressed his back against the wall, "Can't we talk about this? Don't make me hurt you because I will." _Without hurting Sola in the process _His hand closed around one of Rouge's EMP bombs, but he couldn't use it because at such short range Sola would shut down too. The Knight came closer its hand outstretched ready to clamp down on his neck and electrocute. He closed his eyes, heard a grunt followed by another more drone like and opened them. A white fist was sticking out of the Knights chest grasping wires and covered in gunk. The fist withdrew and the robot fell sideways revealing Sola grinning like an idiot.

"Now _that_ was sweet!" She took a second to look at him, " You're covered in paste but other wise fine, no broken bones."

"How did you?"

She tapped the side of her head, " Scanning eye balls, Doc. I accessed some of Carla's programmes, girl's got some neat stuff."

" Smashing." He crouched to examine the beaten EK, took out his glasses and peered into the hole she made with her fist. Taking out a clear food bag, he carefully plucked a small black object no bigger than a mobile phone and placed it inside. Holding it up at eye level he turned it this way and that and grinned." Gotcha!"

" Good news?"

"Oh, yeah. With this little baby I might be able to put a stop to Eggman's plans. That's him up there, right?" Standing, he pointed upwards towards the roofs where the lone figure stood clapping his hands.

" Nice work with my toys." He called down. " You must be the infamous Doctor, a long way from Gallifrey are you not?" The Doctor blinked, " Yes, I know all about you, my boy. I have friends in high places too, you know."

Sola pushed her way forward, " Whatever you're up to, we'll stop you like always Lard Belly!"

This time Eggman blinked, " Lard Belly? The only person who calls me that is…" He raised his brows over his sunglasses. "Sonic? Is that you?" He smirked.

" Yeah it's me." She put hands on hips. "Giggle all you want,'Buttnik but I'll stop you."

The mad doctor waved his hands trying to control his giggles, " Let me get this right. You're Sonic inside the cat robot that Tails made, how'd you do it? Oh, wait…an energy transfer! That's smart, very smart. Did you think of that, Time Lord?" The Doctor frowned at him, brown eyes darkened. " So…Sonic's mind is right here, where's your body, rodent?"

"Safe with G.U.N guarding it 24/7," beside her the Doctor shot her a warning glare a little too late. She ignored it completely and continued regardless." Even if you did get it, you'll have no use for it 'cause Dark Gaia's completely taken over and we all know how that worked out for you last time."

Eggman looked at them oddly for a second and then bowed his head. " You're right. It's foolish of me to try a control him again. I'll have to settle for wanton destruction of the planet with my new Egg Knights. Go. Try and find a weakness if you can, I'll be waiting for you for the final showdown." He turned and with a flourish of his coat disappeared from view. Once he was out of earshot he pressed the earpiece again. " It's me, you were right. Dark Gaia is ready for extraction, your highness."

In the alleyway Sola looked up at the Doctor, " I've just made things worse, haven't I?" He nodded and she sighed, " Thought so. Come on, let's do it to it! Assemble the gang and save the day." Together they headed back to Mystic Ruins.


	8. Chapter 7

**I don't own anything Sonic or Sega related. (Sob.)**

**They sound too British? I'll try and fix that. (Meant to be Delta not Alpha, I have corrected it.)**

**Yes, Sonic is stuffed inside an android's body. It might seem weird, and really it is but I've done too many stories where one of the heroes ends up as a ghost. Trust me when I say Sonic is safe… as long as he doesn't do any too stupid and burns himself out (should that be **_she_** and **_herself_**?).**

**Please R and R if you want, all reviews welcome. **

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Chapter 7

**G.U.N HQ (Shh, it's a secret.)**

" Ergh, eeww! Is that you, Shadow?" Rouge wrinkled her nose at the awful stench that had wafted into the small office. "Try some herbal tea or something, would ya. You stink!"

The black hedgehog scowled at her from across the desk. " I believe the phase is: she who smelt it, dealt it."

"Don't get cute with me, mister! It's not my fault you've missed your date with Amy. Boss man wants the red tape sorted through and we have to deal, so deal with it." She shuffled her papers into a neat pile and placed them in a folder. " How's it going by the way? You make your move yet?" Sitting forward on her elbows she smirked at him. " I want _all_ details. I need my weekly smooches report."

He sighed and then returned the smirk, " My lips are sealed." Stapling his work together he added it to Rouge's and deposited the file into the red OUT tray. " Another one done. How many more to go?"

Rouge jabbed a thumb towards the blue IN tray still overflowing with complaints and unfinished reports. " Another couple of hundred or so. Tell you what, you get started on the next file and I'll check out that stink, it reeks in here."

" Probably just janitors clearing the air vents," He called after her as she got up and left the office. He heard the door click shut and grumbled reaching for the next bulging file. " I hate red tape." He barely sat back down when he heard the soft thump, getting to his feet he poked his head out and wrinkled his nose. He sniffed inhaling the scent of citrus fruits and looked down, his eyes widened. " Rouge!"

The bat was face down on the carpeted floor. Shadow raced to her side and with careful hands turned her over and checked for a pulse, sighing in relief when he found a weak but steady one. " What the hell is going…on?" He blinked spotting a lady standing at the end of the corridor, _Impossible! She died… I killed her. _He made to get up but the lady held up a small opened bottle in her clawed hand and blew something from it. Shadow sniffed again and felt dizzy, his eyes became blurred and he fell onto his knees. " It's…you…" He slurred falling onto his side and succumbing to the darkness that washed over him.

--

The woman grinned watching the black hedgehog fall under her spell, it had been years since she last saw him and he hadn't aged one bit. Not surprising seeing he was an immortal like her. Slipping the tiny vial into her pocket she marvel at how far the planet had come in advanced science. The potion she cooked up in her darling Eggy's Lab released a colourless vapour when you shook it and caused anyone who got in the way to fall into a dreamless sleep.

Now that the black rodent, the flying rat and all the staff working the graveyard shift at the government complex had been immobilised it was time to get what she came for. The contents of Lab Delta, a fellow member of the Order of Seven. After a series of simple hand gestures the small group of EK's behind her marched to the stairwells and elevators. She followed shortly afterwards her pale face breaking into a grin that bared her fangs and made her golden cat eyes sparkle.

As she passed the slumbering Shadow she knelt and placed a hand on his head, " I warned you last time not to cross me, hedgehog. Now I call on the promise you made, when the Sun rises and you hold the Time Lord in your hands you will do what is right." She rose and cocked her head to the side; with giggle she followed the EK's down the stairwells.

They made their way to the Labs, the EK's made quick work of the double doors. While the woman and a couple of Knights entered Lab Delta three others went into the Lab next door. A second later there came a loud hiss followed by a flash of light. The EK that had been brought from Shamar was no more, destroyed by its brothers. _There must be no breadcrumbs left._She thought making her way into the white room and stopping in front of the chamber that housed the sleeping Were-hog. An EK checked the screens and nodded.

" All vitals are normal, your Highness. Psychological profile is clean, no traces of Sonic the Hedgehog."

She grinned, _just like the Nazo Manuscripts predicted._ " Time to wake him up. Bring me the Chaos Emerald."

The EK's wheeled in a small trolley. On top standing on a pedestal stood a yellow gemstone, the second Emerald that G.U.N had kept safe from Eggman. The woman held up her hands and calling on old powers, older than the universe, channelled the raw energy that dwelled deep within the stone towards the sleeping Were-hog. The stone dimmed and then released a single beam of blinding gold light that struck the bulky chest of the Were-hog in the heart. The Were-hog grunted and slowly opened his eyes, not Sonic's green orbs but horrible pink eyes similar to a reptile.

" Dark Gaia? My Lord can you hear me?"

Lips pulled back revealing sharp and deadly fangs dripping with saliva. Dark Gaia flexed his arms and broke the metal bands around his body like paper chains. With a guttural roar, the Were-hog pulled back a fist and smashed his way free, shattering the glass front of the medical cell and sending shards flying everywhere. The Dark Were-hog, free at last, lumbered forward. Once on solid ground, he took a few deep breaths and then lifted his head and grinned devilishly.

The woman knelt and bowed her head, " The stars are coming together, sire. Once we have all the Eyes, the Nazo Serpent will rise and we will take our place as rulers of a new empire. The Order of Seven will mean something once again. We will be Gods amongst men." She looked up and smiled at him her eyes twinkling. " This little rock will burn for what they've done to us. As soon as you've rested you can show the world what a nasty, big bad wolf you are and the best bit is this time not even Sonic the Hedgehog can stop us."

The Were-hog purred with pleasure and held out a hand to her. She took it and grabbed the Emerald. "With me, all of you." Calling on the gem's power again she used Chaos Control and teleported the whole team out of the complex and onto Eggman's waited Battleship.

An hour or so later panic erupted throughout the building. The Commander worked him self into a frenzy, blaming the two Mobians for the mishap, for falling asleep on the job and dooming the whole planet. For once Rouge was quiet happy to let Shadow loose and bash the old fool to death but the black hedgehog said nothing, he was just staring at the floor lost in his own world.

" It's a good thing Tails called us." He snapped after he composed himself. " We got word that Eggman's Eggo-motive is heading north. It's believed that a vast number of Knights are on board being transported to his new Base. Suit up and get on your bikes, last visual contact was at these coordinates." He handed Rouge a slip of paper. " Well, get going!"

They saluted, " Yes, Sir!"

--

High above the railroad tracks leading north a golden plane soared between the clouds. The Hyper Tornado, Tails' pride and joy was more advanced than the previous models. It was equipped with the latest military weaponry that could penetrate the toughest of metals even made from diamonds and could also transform into The Hyper Cyclone, an all purpose battle robot at a seconds' notice.

In the front compartment sat Tails in the pilot seat scanning the tracks below for any sign of Eggman and his 'bots. Behind him dressed for action in a T-shirt and leggings combo was Amy. Behind them in the second bubble compartment, behind the X-shaped wings that gave the other planes their names, sat the Doctor. The Time Lord was in a clean brown suit, one of many from the TARDIS' wardrobe room, a brown tie like before but this time he'd changed his white shirt for a dark blue one. He was wearing his specs and was looking around the cramped space in awe at the majestic technology used to create such a machine. He had to hand it to the cub; the H-Tornado, in some ways, was in the same class as the TARDIS.

Only one person was not _in_the plane and that was Sola. The feline was outside enjoying the brisk air ruffling her fur; she was sitting in Sonic's usual position against the second pod; arms behind her head, legs bent and crossed at the knees, one foot tapping to a song only she could hear and a clam smile on her face.

" I got a visual." Announced Tails pointing to the right. " Eggo-motive dead ahead. Whoa…" He frowned as his scanners went berserk, " that thing's loaded with all kind weapons and its outer structure is super strong. I'm not sure the H- Tornado can make a dent."

" Don't sweat it, buddy." Said Sola through the headsets they were wearing, " Get me close enough and I'll spin dash that hunk of metal into little pieces. Eggman hasn't built a toy I can't trash."

" Nice plan, Sola, but I think you're forgetting something important." Amy looked over her shoulder at her. " You're not Sonic anymore, you're a normal girl who happens to be a bit speedy. You don't have a spin dash or any of your special abilities." The cat glared at her, Tails sank into his chair as far as he could go, and the Doctor suddenly became very interested in a spec on the windows. Amy suddenly brightened, " I know, double team! Sola can run behind the train carrying me and you and the Doctor can distract the train. I'll punch a hole in its side and disable the security systems from the inside. Easy!"

"Uh-uh. No way!"

" What? Why the fig not?"

" 'Cause you're just a girl."

" _Just a-_ how dare you speak to me like that! In case it's slipped your mind, _Sonic_, you're in the same boat as me now so don't you dare pull any _boy are better than girls_ crap. I can't believe you said that!"

The Doctor knocked on the glass, "Can we leave the domestics for another time? Focus."

" I'm just saying…" Started Sola, she didn't get to finish because Amy launched into another row.

As the former daters argued Tails sighed in defeat and concentrated on his flying, he was surprised when the radio bleeped an incoming call from within the plane. He tapped his headset and said, " Hello?"

_" Hello! It's me, the Doctor."_ Tails blinked and looked back passed the bickering duo, the Doctor grinned and waved at him from the other pod. _" I was wondering if you could help me with a slight problem,"_

" Like getting those two to work peacefully together. I don't get it either, Doctor. I mean when they were dating they got on fine, no bickering what so ever."

_" What happened?"_ He asked, taking off his glasses and slipping them into his pocket in one practiced movement.

" Shadow."

_" So, Sonic caught Amy with Shadow?"_ in font he saw Tails shake his head, his brow wrinkled as he figured it out and then it hit him. _"Oh? Ooh, I didn't think Sonic was like **that**."_ He smiled at a distance memory. _"Another Captain Jack on the team."_

"That's because I'm not a Captain Jack, who ever that is." Tails squeaked, the Doctor looked upward and found Sola with a frown on her face. " It was a one off. Afterwards a lot of stuff happened and we went our separate ways. I made the right call to let Amy go. I'm just glad I gave them a helping hand to admit their feelings." She winked at Amy. " Candles." Amy blinked and then blushed. Tails and the Doctor knew they missed something but had no time to ask as the scanner bleeped two new signals.

Tails smiled, " Rouge and Shadow are just ten minutes away. OK, Sola you're up. You and the Doctor go down and get on that train. We've got your--"

"Look out!" Shouted Amy.

A load of missiles streaked their way across the skies. Tails did his best to dodge them but there was too many. The rockets peppered the sides of the plane, blowing one pair of wings clean off. Tails popped the hatches on both pods and grabbed Amy while Sola reached for the Doctor. Smoke clouded their vision; they had no choice but to jump. Tails whirled up his twin tails and carried Amy to safety right before the whole plane exploded. The two friends landed a fair bit away in a crumpled heap, coughing and spluttering. They could just make out the plane as it crashed into the hills lighting up the skies in pinks and reds.

The sounds of powerful engines made them turn. Two bikes pulled up; one purple and one black. Rouge and Shadow flipped the visors of their helmets and watched the fireworks on the distance. The two agents tossed spare helmets to the others, Tails scooted behind Rouge and Amy jumped onto the back with Shadow. The bikes left smoke trails in their wake as they roared off. The fire works could mean only one thing; Sola and the Doctor were alive. They still had a mission to complete.

--

A brown and black blur shot along the countryside weaving in and out of the way of gunfire. Sola was doing her best, she really was, but something was wrong. She couldn't figure it out and it was frustrating. The Doctor was in her arms bridal style his long legs dangling in the winds. The back of the train was coming up and the cat pushed herself that little bit more; she stumbled and nearly dropped the Doctor.

" You Ok?"

She shook her head, " I think… I'm shutting down. Carla was designed to copy our powers at half speeds. Tails put in a barrier that automatically shuts her down if she pushed too far." She grunted, "I can't do this."

" You can. Just get me to the door and I'll break in with my trusty sonic screwdriver."

She nodded, "I'll try." Picking up the pace a little more they edged closer to the Eggo-motive, " You named your screwdriver after me?" She asked with a slight smile and a raised brow.

" Well, I…"

" Can't say I blame you, most things that are sonic are pretty cool. Here we go." They had reached the end most carts. There was a weak looking ladder on the side that led to the fire exit on the roof. " Can you grab that rail?"

" Nothing to it." The Doctor leaned up and took hold of the rusty ladder; he pulled himself up and onto the roof. The train clattered along the tracks and he frowned as the scenery blurred, it was picking up speed. The train rumbled along the rails growing more and more unsteady, the Doctor held onto the weak railing for all he was worth, Sola was falling behind her power source failing. He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out the screwdriver, fighting the fierce winds he aimed it at the lock. Nothing happened, he tried again getting the same result.

" It's deadlocked!" He yelled, " I can't get in! We need something that can cut through."

"Let me try something." Sola pushed her self and ran in a wide curve away from the carriage. The Doctor watched as she headed right for the train only to jump at the last second. "Here we go," She span becoming a fast black whirlwind, " Screw kick!" She sawed through the tough outer shell of the train, disappearing into the dark depths. She stuck her head out a second or two later looking very proud. "That was **so** cool!" She cheered helping the Doctor scramble inside.

"What did you do?"

" I don't know really. I was thinking of a way to get inside and Carla's programming kicked in. Showed me all the moves she'd copied from the other Freedom Fighters, so I picked one."

" Impressive. Now then," He turned on his heels all the way round, nodded and walked off. " This way I think." They opened a door and Sola screamed loudly. An EK Stood along the sides of the next compartment, it wasn't alone. The whole carriage was packed with them; all of them were still not moving to intersect the intruders. " Ah, what's this about, then?" Taking out a stethoscope from his inside pocket the Doctor pressed the flat end to the EK's chest, the other end into his ears and closed his eyes. He hummed and did the same thing to another and another, making his way down to the door at the end. " They're all in standby mode. Sleeping. We're safe."

" If you're sure, Doc." Sola edged forward, as she did her hand brushed ever so lightly against the nearest EK, a minute electrical charge shot from her fingers to the robots legs, it was so tiny that she didn't feel a thing but the EK did. A soft hum built up in its body and it flexed it hands. " This place gives me the creeps."

The Doctor smiled kindly and opened the door to the next compartment with the sonic tool. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. " Trust me, you're safe with me. I promise."

The two journeyed down the train towards the main engine room, the sonic tool lighting their way forwards with its blue glow. While behind them the shadows edged forward.

* * *

**I swear I didn't mean for chapter to been this long, but…**

**(If anyone wants to know what Carla/Sola looks like just click on my Bio page, she's my picture.)**

**Have a teaser for you; Super Shadow will be making an appearance.**

**More soon!**


	9. Chapter 8

**Sorry for the wait, been a bad time for me. (Emotionally.)**

**For the story, I lost my Doctor-ness so I had to watch all my **_**Who**_** DVD's, I think I'm alright now.**

**Anyway, enjoy this chapter! **

**And don't forget to review… you know, if you want. (Don't be shy, please tell me what you think.)**

* * *

Chapter 8. 

Creepy.

Out of the millions of words stored in Sola's big brain, that one world summed up Sonic's latest adventure so far.

Creepy.

The train was creepy, the atmosphere was creepy, and the situation he was in… (Being a girl) was creepy. But the thing that was most creepy was the man she was following and his little blue light.

The duo had a bit of a scare earlier; Eggman had blasted free the damaged carriage causing the whole train to rock violently. The Doctor (the good one) seemed unfazed by it and carried on wandering the dark walkway between the quiet EK's as if nothing had happened whistling a tune that he called _A Teddy bear's Picnic_ while she lost her footing and banged her elbows as she steadied herself.

A sound, a tiny sound made her whip her head around. Her eyes strained the dim light, was she seeing things or did something move. She pressed two fingers to her ear, " Guys can you read me? Hello, anyone there? Guys?" Nothing. Just a lot of static. Uneasiness grew in her stomach and she hurried to the Doctor's side, tugging on his sleeve. " Doctor, I saw something. A shadow… Something's following us."

" Nah. It's just the lights playing tricks on you. Remember, I'm here, so you're safe as houses." He stopped at the small screen at the door leading to the next cart and slipped on his glasses, " Although, it couldn't hurt to check…" His fingers moved over the keypad at lighting speeds, a moment later he stepped back and softly went, "…ah, not good."

Sola poked her head through the gap in his bent arm, "What? What is it?"

The Doctor, seemingly normal again, pursed his lips tightly together, " Each carriage holds 30 EK's, right? So how come the inventory of this carriage is showing 31?" He turned to face the darkness; " I think… you might be right."

" Well, what do we do?"

He was quietly walking up to the first five EK's and peering at them closely. A soft groan left his lips and he grabbed his head, hands fisting his messy hair. He turned to face her; his eyes alight with a crazy gleam and a grin on his face. Before Sola could register what was happening and stop him, the Doctor grinned wildly at her and enveloped her in a crushing hug.

" Rose!"

-----------------

" Are we catching up or is the train getting slower?" Asked Amy, her voice slightly muffled by her helmet.

" A bit of both," said Shadow with a shrug. " The track climbs a steep hill from now on and after that desperate attack I think Eggman's taking care not to lose any more of his toy soldiers."

"He's taking care?" Rouge's voice was still a little shaky, " I was nearly run over by a smoking train cart. He nearly clipped me! Do you know how much this bike costs in repairs?" Her hands gripped the bikes handlebars tightly. " Just wait till I get my hands on him, just wait…"

Tails, behind her tapped her shoulder lightly, " Auntie Rouge, maybe you should clam down."

" _I am calm_!" She snapped, then to Shadow, " You got a plan for derailing that thing?"

" Uh, no. You?"

She huffed annoyed, " Bloody men. Typical!"

Shadow tapped the side of his helmet and then sighed deeply, " It appears that Eggman has set up some kind of shield around the train, blocking our attempts to reach the others. That settles it then. We have to buy Sola and the Doctor a few more minutes. Let's just keep following in case Eggman goes on the offensive again. We should be able to see them over this next--" He stopped his bike suddenly, nearly causing Amy too fall off. " But that's…."

Rouge and Tails stopped beside them and gaped at the now empty track. " Where the hell did they go?"

------------------

"Doctor! Doctor, let me go!"

" Rose, I don't believe it! You're here, you're…" He stepped back holding her at arm's length, eyes narrowing, " here? That's impossible. I left you on Darlig Ulr Stranden. You shouldn't be here. You can't."

" Doctor, it's me. Sola the hedge-cat, remember? What's the matter with you?"

"Nothing." He grinned, releasing her and slipping his specs back into his pocket. " Nothing what so ever, I'm just peachy. Molto bene! Happy as Larry…Ooh, that's not good. The whole room's spinning…" Sola gasped as the Doctor fell onto his knees and then his side. She hurried over and sat on his chest, grabbing him by his jacket lapels to stop him hitting his head. "…TARDIS…"

" TARDIS? Your machine? What about it?"

He screwed up his eyes, forcing the words out, " TARDIS infected…we share a link, what hurts her, hurts me…" His head lolled backwards, " Hurts."

" Don't do this. Don't you dare die on me! We need you… _I_ need you. Please don't do this!" She leaned forward and screamed, "Doctor!" right in his face.

The Doctor's eyes snapped open and focused on her worried face, " Hey, kitty-cat," he grinned weakly, " guess what? I can see right up your nose."

"Idiot." She shook her head and released him, quickly scooting off his chest. The Doctor's head fell back onto the metal walkway below with a _thunk_ and a very pleasing "OW!"

"As if my head didn't already hurt," He pushed himself up into a sitting position, resting on his elbows. " Last time I go to an Eggman party, their party favours stink."

" Eggman? What's he got to do with this?"

He took her offered hand and stood. Dusting himself down, he grinned, " I'm not called _the Doctor _for nothing, you know. It's all in the codes and I cracked them just like I said I would… Hello!" He grinned at something just over the cats' shoulders. Sola turned and quickly got into a fighting stance but the Doctor put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. "He's not here to fight. Are you?" He asked, the EK that had been following them stomped out of the shadows with a fist raised. The Doctor, using Sola as cover, pulled out his sonic screwdriver, put it behind his back and aimed it at the door behind them, smiling inwardly as it swished open. Holding the cat by the shoulders he edged them backwards. " Guess this is our stop. Bye!"

Everything was going swimmingly until he felt the tale-tell prick of a hypo in the back of his neck and everything went black.

Sola felt the pressure leave her shoulders, heard the Doctor's muttered protest and chanced a glance back. She saw the Doctor fall and turned in horror to find another EK standing in the doorway holding the incriminating needle. " You!" She managed to say before the EK behind her reached over, grasped her by the neck and shocked her. With a gasp she fell into the blackness and landed beside the Doctor.

As soon as both were unconscious the two EK dragged them to the front of the train. The owner had questions for them and if he didn't like the answers…well, it was the end of the line.

* * *

" Doctor. Doctor, wake up." He was floating in darkness, so at peace so, so…bored. " Doctor, wake up." He knew that voice; blearily the Doctor opened his eyes and cringed at the brightness of the lights. Staring at a spot on the floor, he focused on a pair of white, fluffy slippers. _Slippers? Must've hit my head harder than I thought._ " Doctor, wake up." Opening his eyes fully, he followed the white feet up black legs to a pink T-shirt and up to a black face framed by yellow hair, a face that quickly changed from worried to immense relief. " Welcome back, Doc."

" Sola? What is going on?" He tried to move but couldn't, looking down he spied the thick belt strapped around his middle and smaller ones holding down his hands and ankles. Sola raised her brows and showed that she too was strapped down in a similar fashion." Aha," he said with a nod. " Is this the big intro moment? Well, what are you waiting for? I didn't travel all this way to talk to thin air. C'mon, let's have a look at you!" A screen flickered on to the right of his vision; he had to crane his neck, he frowned at the fat face on it. " Doctor Robotnik, I presume."

" _Please, call _me_ Doctor_." He smirked down at his captives. " _I hope my boy has been treating you right, best we could do at short notice_."

" _Your boy?_" Echoed the Time Lord and then he blinked, " Of course!" He shouted, making Sola jump in her chair. " The base code of the hand I took from Shamar. It's the same as the broken pods back at Mystic Ruins. Which means you're behind it all, but no one would but something made by _you-- _I mean have you looked in the mirror lately? _Ugly!_ -- So you had to have someone you trusted completely." From the shadows a lone figure walked into view dressed in an ordinary black tux, eyes shining bright blue and ear pods studded in red lights. The Doctor grinned. " Ladies and gentlemen, the face of **E-NET**, Mr Irvin Roberto AKA Eggman's right- hand man EK- 18."

Eggman looked at him in a nice shade of purple completely astounded._" How'd you figure that out? Celosia's plan was foolproof!" _

Sola stared at him in disbelief, her face paling, catching the Doctor shooting her a worried glance she shook it off. The Doctor turned to face the big screen and gave Eggman a modest shrug. " Yeah, well obviously it wasn't 'cause you know, ultimate genius here and compared to me you're an idiot. It wasn't hard for me; well… when I say it wasn't hard what I really mean is that it was _very _hard. So as I was telling my young friend here," he nodded towards Sola, " it's all in the base codes. I crosschecked them against all know robotic codes in G.U.N's database and Ta-da! **E-NET**is sole property of Dr I Robotnik. You."

Eggman's moustache twitched and bristled. _" So you cracked my codes, did you? And how did you do that, hm? Did you use that machine of yours? "_He leaned closer to the screen and the Doctor and Sola cringed as he still had egg yolk on his wobbly chin. Eggman smiled a cold smile. _" Tell me, Doctor, how's your head?"_

The Doctor frowned, " You infected the TARDIS, _my_ _TARDIS! _What for? OI! What are you doing?" EK-18 had moved from his place in the shadows and was now fixing small clamps to the back legs of his chair. He removed the Doctor's own ear piece, placing it on a handy placed table and put a thin metal cap on his head." Well, _that's_ not good."

" _You will tell me the secret of you box, Doctor. Tell me the secret and I will give you the cure. If not, then I will take it from you by force."_ The Doctor clamped his lips together in a thin line._ " Not going to share?"_ With an exaggerated sigh he shook his head _"EK-18 _persuade_ him."_

Sola watched, sick to her stomach, as EK-18 flicked a switch. The room was filled with the crackling of building up energy and then a howling scream. The Doctor's body arched up like a bow as far as his bonds would let him, his eyes slammed shut and face screwed up as the pain border-lined blackout point. The torture continued for what seemed like ages, until finally EK-18 calmly turned the machine off and stepped to the side. The Doctor slumped forward in his chair his shoulders trembling. Sola edged forward in her own chair to see if he was alright when his head snapped up, the cat narrowed her eyes curiously at his expression.

"Doctor?" She asked delicately.

The Doctor's face, looking sweaty and exhausted, quirked into a grin, the grin grew to one of manic proportions. And then he laughed throwing his head back. " Whoa! What a rush!" He winked at the cat, " Nothing like a quick frying session to clear the old grey cells." He pouted at Eggman. " Sorry, Doc, won't be needing that cure after all."

"_What! B-but that's impossible! How'd you do it?"_

" Simple really," a flash of silver appeared from under his sleeve, " I'm a Time Lord, completely connected to my TARDIS. What you do to one of us, you do to _both_of us. Infection purged." Squeezing down hard on the screwdriver a blast of sonic energy hit EK-18, the robot staggered back in shock. He aimed the best he could at the strap securing Sola's left wrist, another burst and she took care of the remaining bonds. She sprang into action jumping on the stunned EK, bringing it down in a metal heap. He freed himself and headed for the big computer at the head of the train to distract himself from Eggman's wails as Sola ripped his favourite to shreds. He looked up and pursed his lips thoughtfully. " There's only so much hideousness I can take." He murmured, aiming the sonic tool to the screen. Eggman's face swirled into blackness and was replaced with the train's main database, the Doctor grinned, " There, _much_ better."

Sola skipped up to his side, face covered in grime and other bad smelling substances. She dusted her hands. " Mr Roberto has officially taken early retirement. That's a not a happy face. What's up?"

"See for yourself." He scooted over to allow her access. " EK inventory is zero. No EK's on board what so ever. So the million credit question is; where'd they go, hm?" Licking a finger he held it up and turned full circle, reaching his staring point he made a face. " Ugh. Funny taste in the air and can you smell that? Like copper, a real metal tang. Like, like…"

"Teleport!" cried Sola.

The Doctor beamed at her, "Teleport! Oh, Sola I like you. Eggman must've teleported the whole lot while we were sleeping. Now that's just rude!" Taking out his sonic tool he plugged the unlit end into a handy slot at the computers' base. While he was waiting for the database to be uploaded to the TARDIS (Now free of Eggman's virus.) he casually scrolled down the open file that EK-18 was reading before they were captured. He frowned slightly, " Look at this…_ARK modifications complete. EK's to assemble at city centres at midnight to lead unconverted._ That's sounds bad, what else is there?_ Chaos Emerald fused to main engine, ready for warp drive activation. Eye of Iblis secured. Planet Mercy located. _Mercy? Mercy, Mercy…why does that ring a bell?" The sonic screwdriver pinged and he smiled, " Ooh, now _that _rings a bell." Picking up his trusty device he placed safely in his pocket and gave it a reassuring pat. " Right!" He said grinning, " Let's get the Dalek out of here."

Sola didn't move. She was looking at the screen; it had gone black saved for the bunch of numbers in red. The Doctor glanced up his eyebrows knitting together, once again he brandished the screwdriver and ran for the nearest door. The end shone blue, the device hummed but nothing happened.

" Doctor, do something. It's counting down."

_**30…29…28…27…26…**_

"Argh, again deadlocked! Why is it _always_ deadlocked? I can't do deadlocked!" He turned, bounding up to the terminal, frantically hitting the keys. "No, no, no. It's in self-destruct mode. I can't over ride it."

_**18…17…16…15…**_

"Do something! C-can't we sent out an SOS to the others?" She held up the earpieces between her fingers. "Can't you zap them?"

" Won't work, dampening field blocking all incoming and outgoing transmissions. Ever wonder why it was so quiet?" He thought for a second reading the file a bit more, " Ah that makes sense! Silent running! Even if we could send an SOS they wouldn't be able to find us. Whole train's been cloaked."

" So what do we do? Doctor?"

_**10…9…8…7…**_

" I can't, I can't stop it." Hands fisting in his hair, he stared at the numbers. " Can't!"

" Doctor!"

_**6…5…4…**_

" Get down!" Grabbing her arm the Doctor pulled her down with him underneath the main computer's desk and held her tight. " I'm so sorry." He whispered softly.

She looked up ,eyes shiny brightly and smiled sadly at him , " So am I."

_**3…2…1…**_

* * *

**I do love a cliffhanger!**

**I think Sonic is embracing his girly side.**

**What will happen?**

**More soon!**


	10. Chapter 9

**What a send off!! The Xmas Dr Who was just brilliant! I have to admit I cried (who didn't?) The show will never be the same. So, sadly, R.I.P 10****th**** Doctor, you've been absolutely fantastic. **

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Chapter 9. 

A new day was dawning; the first rays of the sun warmed the cold ground from its slumber. On the horizon two black dots against the orange curve slowly appeared. They came closer and closer until two very distinctive figures emerged. One was bald and fat, the other was slender and fair, and both were riding in very modern looking hovercrafts.

Eggman surveyed the damage caused by the blowing up of his train the day before. It had been a huge gamble and judging by the carnage, it had been worth it. The remains of the carriages were in bits, scattered along the tracks, if not entangled with them. The main bulk of the train, the engine itself, was in the middle of a smoking crater. Blackened, charred and mangled beyond recognition, nobody could have survived such a powerful blast at such close range and that made him squirm with pleasure.

" Look, my little firefly. This is what happens to those who don't play fair and share. This is the true power of the Eggman Empire."

The woman was dressed in a low cut gown of darkest black. Her long, platinum hair softly brushed the tops of her shoulders as she peered over the edge of her hovercraft. Her skin was pale like snow and her eyes were golden and shaped like a tigers'. Whist one clawed hand gripped the Egg-O-Matic's side in a hard vice grip, the other was wrapped around a staff of sorts. It was a long, knobbly stick with three golf ball sized holes drilled into it at odd intervals, however, at the very top of the staff was something really fancy. Sitting quite comfortably in a misty aura was a strange red orb, again no bigger than a golf ball. The orb glowed with an eerie light, pulsated with power, the power of everlasting fire.

The Eye of Iblis.

"Oh, Eggy-Weggy," she cooed sweetly, her hand letting go of the hovercraft's side to stroke the orb, it flared at her touch before settling back into it's pulsing rhythm once more. " The Doctor man must surely be dead which is good news, he was getting on my nerves. Poking his big nose in my business, such bad manners." She looked over to him and battered her lashes, " Tell me, dearest, is everything ready for tonight?"

Eggman smirked, " Of course, Celosia. Global activation will commence at exactly midnight. Our Knights will rise and over power this tiny planet, the Earth _will _surrender to us and _donate_ the resources to allow us to fly to the heavens or they will simply die. Isn't it such a good plan?"

She giggled, " Simple ones are the best, darling. Just think, tonight the Earth, tomorrow the whole galaxy!"

The pair shared a smile and hurried off heading north. Last minute bugs needed ironing out back at the secondary Egg dome, a smaller base and main depot of Egg Knights. Come midnight the Egg Knights would march for the glory of the Eggman Empire.

---

The dull ache and soft thumping were becoming an annoyance. A light groan left his lips as a gentle warning for those making the racket. When they didn't stop he decided enough was enough. The Doctor opened his eyes with effort and the first thing that came to him, as his vision cleared was that the room he was in was very, very pink.

As tired as he was he managed to push himself into a sitting position and had a good look round. The walls of the room were painted baby-pink, as were the curtains, the carpet, and ceiling along with the furniture were pale cream. He looked down to find the bedspread that had been tucked under his armpits and was now pooling in his lap was a deep shade of red. Where the heck was he? Yawning and stretching, the Doctor worked out a kink in his neck. Pushing the duvet off he found he was dressed in only his navy shirt and brown trousers, scanning the room he found his suit jacket hanging on the back of the door and his socks and tie folded neatly on a desk by the window, his plimsolls were placed by the bed.

Carefully he got up, dressed and padded into the hallway. The passage itself was very easy on the eyes. Passing the doors along it he found the bathroom, painted pale yellow with a crisp white suite and then a small storage cupboard. Further along he came to a door with a plague nailed to it: **Sonic's Room.** Curiously he tried the handle and found it unlocked, poking his head inside the Doctor scanned the room and smiled.

The hedgehogs' room was like any boys' bedroom. It was light blue, untidy and the walls were littered with posters of music and movie stars. In one corner sat a battered TV set, a couple of beanbag chairs and a gaming console. The furniture was chocolate brown, and in the same basic layout as the pink room. The desk was covered with comics, their protective covers coated in a fine layer of dust; the bedspread design was outer space complete with planets and rockets.

He closed the door softly behind him with a slight nod and continued down the hall, following the voices he could now hear coming from the door at the very end. The door was open just a crack allowing him the peer into an open planned area, a living room, dining room and kitchen all tidy and well looked after. The most wonderful smell wafted through the crack, his eyes closed as he breathed deep and… His stomach rumbled loudly, he patted it to try and soothe it but it wouldn't listen. It growled again and he sighed.

The door opened suddenly making him yelp and jump in alarm. " Morning, sugar-doc." Rouge, dressed in a short purple skirt and a black t-top, held up a steaming mug. "Hot tea with a dash of milk."

" Uh, thanks." Taking the cup he followed her into the dining area, Tails was already at the circular table elbow deep in paper work and scratching his head furiously, clearly troubled by something. He took the seat next to him and sipped his tea. " Need a hand?" He offered kindly.

Tails opened his mouth to reply but another voice got there before him. " Oh, no you don't, Doctor." Amy, in leggings and a clean shirt, walked in from the kitchen carrying a plate piled high with hot buttery toast. " Breakfast first and then you can help." Setting the plate in the middle of the table she rolled up her shirtsleeves and pressed a palm to his forehead. " You seem better after your nap. How do you feel, any side effects?"

"What? I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be? I'm just a little confused." He pulled her hand away, " What happened? The last thing I remember clearly was the train was about to explode."

" Chaos Control happened." Chuck appeared holding a glass of OJ wearing the same expression as Tails. " You were saved by Chaos Control. Hence you being knocked out of a good part of a day."

" What!" The Doctor, choked on his drink. He coughed and spluttered with Amy patting his back to calm him. He nodded his thanks and she sat beside Rouge. " Are you telling me that Sola was able to use Chaos Control? I thought you put in barriers to stop her from using too much power and burning out?"

The last part was directed at Tails who rubbed the space between his eyes with the end of his pencil. " I did." He growled softly. " These readings aren't making sense! I don't know anymore with her. She's completely off the charts. I give up!" He crumpled the sheets into balls and rested his head in his arms in defeat.

" Don't be like that. Let me see." The Doctor took the top most sheet, slipped on his specs and read the statistics. " Ooh, interesting. Look here at the brainwave activity, it spikes and that causes a chain reaction within the other power sources. I think what happened was this; subconsciously Sonic's life force knew it was in danger; it mixed with the raw Chaos energy already in Carla's body, those two magical elements then merged with the unknown properties contained in the billionth ring. The three power sources magnetized and wham! Enough Chaos power to override Carla's safety protocols and allows Sonic to use Chaos Control with out burning out completely. Simple really."

" If you say so, Doctor."

"Am I in trouble?" asked a new voice from the doorway. The group turned as one and found Sola, dressed in a light blue t-shirt, standing with her hands folded in front of her and looking scared.

"I should think so! You're in it so deep, Missy, you'll need a shovel to dig yourself out." The Doctor jumped from his seat and walked over to where she was standing. Hands on hips, he glared down at her. "That was a stupid and reckless thing you did. You could've died." He frowned, "I don't care if you were acting the hero, you try it again and I will de-activate you."

"What!" Squealed a horrified Amy.

"You can't be serious?" Tails blinked at him with wide eyes.

" Now see here," Chuck was now on his feet, "what gives you the right to decide her fate?"

He rounded on them, " I'm the Doctor, last of the Time Lords. If you want to take it up with somebody in higher authority, you can't. It's stops here and now with me." He folded his arms, standing to his full height he towered over them. "I brought her life and I can just as easily take it away. Sonic can float about in the air for all I care; my job is to stop the Egg Knights rising and taking over the world and that I'm going to do. But I'm not a complete monster," he turned back to Sola, who was now trembling, and knelt down to her eye level, he placed his hands on her shoulders and spoke quietly so the others couldn't hear him clearly. "I need to fix the faults in your programming." Then louder for the others who were trying to see what was happening, " I'm going to give you a choice; I can de-activate you or you can behave and help me. What's it's going to be?"

Sola sniffed softly before answering, "I-I'll behave and I promise not to do it again."

Behind them the others released a collective sigh of relief. The Doctor said, "Good." opened his arms for a hug and whispered in her ear as she hugged him back, "Time-space jumping with no capsule is nasty business." He grimaced. She giggled; he gave her quick wink before standing. " Now then we need a plan, which involves me fixing my ship before I can figure out Eggman's next move. Rouge, any chance of a lift?" He asked with his best puppy-dog expression.

Rouge, on her fifth slice of toast, swallowed a mouthful with a shake of the head. " Sorry, no can do, Doc. Shadow took my motor, said he was going to Club Hugs. I didn't ask too many questions," she waggled her eyebrows suggestively, " he's red blooded male after all."

Taking his seat, the Doctor asked, "What's Club Hugs?"

Chuck was looking over at Amy, watching her face reddening. The elderly hedgehog coughed awkwardly, " It's an exclusive gentlemen's club." He whispered. " Card invite only."

" It wasn't my fault!" Amy blurted out to them. " I wanted to show him that you weren't dangerous, Doctor, so I took your key." The Doctor patted down his pockets in alarm." Panic not, Doctor, I kept it with me in case Eggman tried something." She took out a silver key from her pocket and the Doctor relaxed. " I showed him the inside, I guess he couldn't handle the scale of it and just took off."

"And where's the TARDIS now?" The Doctor asked. Finding Shadow would come later, right now his beloved TARDIS mattered to him more.

Amy smiled, "She's on the roof, safe and waiting for you."

" You know, I should be mad at you for breaking in, but I'm not. You kept her safe and that's all that matters to me. She's all I got left of home. Thank you." Retrieving the TARDIS key, he kissed the top of her head playfully." Thank you." He said again. Turning to face the cat he dangled the key by its chain between his fingers." You want to see?"

" Seeing as I'm the only one who hasn't…" She nodded, beaming from ear to ear, "Yes, please!"

---

They found the TARDIS parked where Amy had promised, on the roof on the apartment block. Her blue paint gleamed in the sunlight and the small frosted windows on the doors sparkled like ice. The Doctor walked around checking for any damage.

"Aw, did you miss me?" He asked her, patting her sides with deep affection. " You soppy, old thing." Coming to a halt at the front doors, he fished in his pockets, pulled out the key and twirled it in the lock. The lock clicked open, he looked behind and smiled, it quickly changed to a frown of bafflement." In you come." He held out a hand.

Sola hesitantly edged forward and grasped his hand. She allowed herself to be led inside, as soon as she passed through the double doors her face changed and lit up with amazement. " Oh… wow!" Letting go she bounded up the ramp to the central console, and walked around it, looking above and below. She hopped off the raised grated floor and had a good look at the winding pillars of coral holding up the domed ceiling." This is…this is just so… _Barmy_!" she laughed, spreading her arms out and twirling on the spot.

The Doctor, leaning back on the console, watched her with a small smile tugging his lips." She's called the TARDIS. T-A-R-D-I-S, it stands for_ Time And Relative Dimension In Space_." He stuffed his hands into his trouser pockets and sniffed, "So, where do you want to start?"

"How about a compromise? You help me and I'll help you with your ship. We can leave the intergalactic Q and A for another time. Deal?"

"Sounds good to me. Take a seat. I won't be a sec." He patted down the battered chair by the console before going around the other side and ducking under it for his toolbox. " Had it here somewhere. Where is it?"

" Can you really fix me?" she asked, making herself comfy.

The Doctor poked his head up, " I think so. Just need a vital bit of equipment," He disappeared again, a second later the control room echoed with a loud, heavy _Dink!_ And an" OW!"

"Doctor, you OK?" Alarmed, she jumped off the seat and hurried to where the Doctor was. She tried to hide her smile with the back of her hand upon finding him sprawled ungracefully on the floor and failed. " You alright?"

The Doctor nodded, rubbing his head and hissing through clenched teeth. " Yeah, I'm fine and hope you can forgive me."

" For what?"

"This." Before Sola could react, he whipped out the screwdriver, aimed it at her temples and activated it. She slumped unconscious into his waiting arms. Taking out his stethoscope he checked her vitals, nodding as they registered OK. " Right. Time to get to work." Holding the robotic feline by the underarms, the Doctor hauled her back over to the chair, propped her up in it and adjusted the settings on the screwdriver." Excuse me." He murmured, lifting the hem of her shirt to pull open her chest panel that concealed her inner workings. It didn't take him long to isolate the fault and repair it, just a quick blast from the sonic tool did the trick. As an extra measure and a gift, he installed UESP (Ultra Emergency Safety Protocols.)These made sure if the password, that only he knew, was spoken Sola would be allowed to use Chaos Control again as a last resort. All done and sorted, he replaced the covering and her shirt and stood in front on the consoles' computer. Pulling out a tiny slot at its base he inserted the unlit end of the sonic screwdriver and slipped his specs on.

He brought up the androids schematics he took from Tails' computer earlier and began scrolling through them. He found what he wanted in a matter of minutes- Sola's memory banks or Sonic's memories. He leaned forward for a closer look, back at G.U.N something seemed a little off when he looked at the mental battle between Sonic and Dark Gaia. He traced the line that represented the hedgehog's memories and a frown appeared on his face. Normal memories should be displayed as a single line but Sonic's weren't, instead of just one there were two lines… No, wait… there were _three_.

" What happened to you, Sonic?" Moving his hand towards the screwdriver he stopped midway. If Sonic's memories had been altered then there was probably a good reason behind it. If he made him remember it could open up a whole can of worms and make things ten times' worse. A haunting look entered his eyes as he thought of Donna, the brilliant Doctor-Donna, safe back home and living a normal life with no memory of him or their adventures together. " Best not to." He decided stepping away from the controls, "I'm getting old." He sighed, pocketing his glasses.

The computer bleeped bringing him out of his stupor. He had been up-loading numerous things at once and, like any old computer, processing was time consuming. Quickly tapping keys, flipping switches and twirling knobs, the Time Lord brought up a certain piece of surveillance footage. He groaned out loud finding the audio wrecked and the image snowy, who ever was on the tape had done a good job of sabotage. Not to be giving up, he tweaked the TARDIS' systems the best he could and managed to fix it. With the audio on low so not to wake the sleeping Sola, he watched the video repeatedly each time his mood getting darker.

" So that's it. Time for words, I think." He grabbed the screwdriver and hurried to the doors. Taking out a clear food bag and his bad mojo detector from the pockets of his long coat, he stormed out of them, nearly barrelling into Amy who had brought lunch. He completely ignored her cries demanding what was going on and headed for the nearest fire escape.

---

Shadow sat nursing his ginger ale, barely paying attention to the lousy band and the pretty dancer on stage. The club itself was just as he felt; dark and moody. Perfect. The black hedgehog calmly sipped his drink and after a while became aware that the soft music had stopped. Glancing up at the stage he found it empty. He looked around and noticed that he was all alone. The chair opposite him was pulled back along the carpeted floor and someone sat down.

Shadow looked up and blinked. The Doctor gave him a cheery smile that somehow didn't reach his eyes and leaned forward onto his elbows, cupping his chin thoughtfully.

" I was just wondering, 'cause it's a hard thing to do at the best of times, and I really want to know. Between you and me, just how do you plan to kill me, Shadow?"

For the first time in many months, Shadow felt genuinely afraid.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10.

Time seemed to stop.

The brown eyes of the Doctor never left the red orbs of Shadow. The black hedgehog's breathing became laboured; he calmed it by taking in slow gulps of the fetid air of the nightclub. It seemed like hours before he found his voice.

" I don't know what you're talking about."

The Doctor's face contorted with anger, "Don't give me that kind of bull, hedgehog. I know all about your seedy deal with the devil- quite literally in fact- with me in the middle. What was it!" He screamed.

" I honestly don't know what you're on about. I swear!"

He sat back. " OK, OK…I'm a reasonable fellow. So swear."

Shadow blinked. " What?"

" Swear. Swear on Amy's life."

" I swear on Amy's life," he started calmly, " I know--"

"When the Sun rises and you hold the Time Lord in your hands you will do what is right."

Shadow twirled in his seat, behind him the Doctor replayed the CCTV footage over and over. It showed Shadow sleeping on the floor, a woman with her back to the camera kneeling by his side and softly whispering into his ear. When she was done she stood and walked away followed by a small number of EK's. As she past the cameras she pushed her long, platinum hair from her face allowing Shadow a clear look. What he saw made him gasp.

" No. Impossible!"

"Who is she?" He asked, switching off the device and plunging the room back into semi darkness.

Shadow turned back and took a long shaking gulp of his drink before answering, " Her name's Celosia. An Old One, a demigod from the Dark Times. A while back she tried to destroy the world using the seven Chaos Emeralds. Sonic and I managed to stop her by using our super forms and a powerful weapon on- board the ARK. She died instantly in a shower of green light. She died!"

" Looks like she came back."

"That is plainly obvious, Doctor." He snapped. "Something must've happened when Sonic…" He shut his eyes as bad memories came flooding back. " Some time ago Sonic travelled into the Void, " The Doctor's mouth slowly hung open in astonishment. "I know… an impossible feat but the Void was dying, Doctor. Sonic healed it but the Chaos energy he used was too volatile. The energy created a rupture in time and space that somehow brought her back to life and to allow Dark Gaia to fully possess Sonic." He downed the remainder of his drink and pushed the empty glass away. " We must tell the others. If Celosia is working with Eggman again the final battle is not far off. We should be prepared." With that he got up and headed for the nearest exit.

" Good plan, I like it." The Doctor joined him folding his hands behind his back. "Do you really have no idea about the deal you two made? It just, you know, my life's on the line here."

Shadow groaned, "I swear I'll knock you into next week if you keep on. Just zip it, Doctor. I'll remember in time." As they crossed the room a soft creak made him stop dead making the Doctor knock into him from behind. "What was that?"

The Doctor shrugged, "Just an old building settling. Nothing to worry about."

Shadow hummed and started walking again. Reaching the door he turned and found the Doctor hadn't moved. He was standing in the middle of the floor under the skylights holding up the homemade gizmo from the hospital; the small dish on its top was whirling around like crazy.

" Doctor, what is it?"

"Big. Very big and powerful. Very, very angry." Turning on the spot he held it up and stopped looking up at the ceiling. " Ooh, can I add hairy to the list? Big, powerful, angry and hairy."

Shadow looked up too, his eyes widened in horror. " Doctor…MOVE!"

The glass ceiling smashed and rained down of them as something, indeed, big, powerful and hairy dropped with a low grunt and landed a few meters away. In the dim light the Doctor and Shadow could make out the sticky out head quills, bulky arms and skinny legs ending in heavy spiked soled red shoes. Deep breathing filled the air and both took hesitant steps backward. The new arrival lifted their head; reptilian eyes snapped open and fixed on their position. Lips pulled back revealing sharp and deadly fangs dripping with saliva.

" Ooh, not good."

"That looks like… but it can't be," Shadow reached out a hand, " Sonic?"

The Doctor snatched it back. " Not Sonic. Were- Sonic!"

Were- Sonic, the Dark Were-hog as he was now known, threw back his head and howled in triumph. He pawed the ground, a hungered look entered his eyes and he growled. The Doctor, holding a dumbstruck Shadow by the shoulders, edged back towards the exit. The Were-hog padded forward stalking his prey. He lifted a fat, clawed hand to strike them down when…

Something else crashed through the ruined ceiling. Another hairy, powerful, angry-but not so big-figure landed on the Were-hog's shoulders, wrapping strong arms around his neck and struggling to hold him back.

" Don't just stand there, you idiots." Shouted Sola. " RUN!"

The Doctor had ready the sonic screwdriver, opened the door and ushered Shadow out before turning back, " Come on!" He yelled extending a hand.

She snarled back. " Don't talk to me, Doc. I'm so pissed off with you right now." She grunted as the Were-hog tried to throw her off. " I can't hold him. Go!" The Doctor, with slight reluctance, nodded and left sealing the door shut behind him. Sola grinned, " Alright, Wolfie, just you and me now."

The Were-hog span in a violent circle succeeding in throwing her off. Sola tumbled through the air smashing into the bar area of the club. On impact the wooden bar splintered, glass from numerous bottles and drinking tumblers shattered, cutting her. Crashing into the back a multicolour waterfall from various wines and liquors showered her, soaking her to the bone. The Were-hog gave another loud roar of triumph, crouched on all fours and charged towards her fallen form.

But Sola was ready. At the right moment she launched herself up and over the bar remains catching the beast by surprise. Teeth bared and claws out she attacked, hating herself inside and hoping that she didn't do too much damage to Sonic's face, after all when this was over she didn't want to spend weeks looking like a big bruise. At the last second she changed tactics, instead of the face she went for the body. She aimed for the chest in a daring blow only for her fist to connect with a hollow _**clang**_. The impact made her fall down with a bump. Kissing her hurting hand she looked up and frowned spying the thing she had hit.

A harness was secured across the Were-hog chest. It criss-crossed the muscular bulk in thick straps dotted with blinking lights. Around his neck was a neat collar of similar design, obviously a control device of sorts. The Were-hog grunted with annoyance and wrapped a hand around the cat's neck forcing her to stay down. It moved over her growling quietly, air puffing from its nostrils. His other hand slammed down beside her head the wooded floor cracked under the sheer weight of it. Slowly he lowered his head so their noses were inched apart and Sola screwed her eyes shut waiting for the inevitable…

The door burst open in a hail of bullets. Shadow and a small group of G.U.N officers marched in surrounding the beast and took aim. There was commotion behind the sea of navy as the Doctor forced his way to the front.

" Stop! Let me through. Oi, you, move! No, to your _other _left." A sigh, " You call yourselves soldiers. Useless!" Finally making it to the front he stood facing them with his arms wide shielding both Sola and the Were-hog. " Don't shoot!"

" Doctor, move aside. You're blocking our shot."

He shook his head. " Sorry, I'm not going anywhere until I try and talk to our fuzzy friend here." The officers looked at each other and then at Shadow, who nodded, slowly they lowered their guns. The Doctor smiled gratefully at the black hedgehog, " Thank you."

"You got five minutes, Doctor."

"That's all I need." Turning to the scene in the centre of the circle he approached very cautiously. The Were-hog sniffed the air and turned with lumbering movements to face him still holding on to Sola by the neck. The Doctor smiled warmly, " Hello," he said clearly and softly, " I'm the Doctor. Why don't you put that nice kitty down and we can have a chat, hm? You can talk, right?"

The Were-hog growled a warning but seemed to understand him for he released Sola who scrambled away to a safe distance. His sickly, pink eyes darted from the skinny man in a brown suit to the mass of men with guns to the numerous exits and then back to the Doctor. He flexed his paws and a smug grin slowly appearing on his grey muzzle. With out warning the beast threw up his hands to slam them back down again with a jubilant roar. The shock-wave from the Were-hog's Earth Shaker move caught them all and sent them in every direction; Sola found herself heading for the bar again, Shadow and the G.U.N officers were knocked back against the walls and the Doctor landed in the instruments abandoned by the clubs' band.

----

The Doctor reckoned he was out for several hours by the time he forced his eyes open. His headache was as bad as ever. Blinking away the haze obscuring his vision he frowned spying the barrel of a gun pointed at his nose. Slowly, after carefully removing a drumstick that would've made sitting a very painful experience, he raised his hands.

" Gun at face is not a good sign in my book. What's going on?"

Over the other side of the room Shadow was holding up a badly hurt Sola, one of her legs was heavily bandaged and she was covered with numerous cuts and bruises. The black hedgehog, sporting a big bruise on his right cheek, glared at the traveller, " For putting others at great risk and meddling in G.U.N affairs, you're under arrest." He nodded to two small officers, " Take him away." Sola made no attempt to come to the Doctor's rescue in any way and just stared at the floor and really, who could blame her after what he did to her?

The Doctor was flabbergasted "What!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. The two officers hauled him up and frog marched him out. " This is a mistake. I was trying to help. Don't do this, Shadow! I'm here to help. Let go of me!"

Outside he was frisked and stripped of his prized belongings. This time as he tried to escape from being roughly man handled into the jeep, failed to notice on the cars' bonnet little red flags with golden **R's **emblazoned upon them. The jeep journeyed out of the city to the out skirts and pulled up a gravel path leading up to a grand Manor house. Finally the penny dropped for the Doctor who gawped at his lavish surroundings. The officers got out and took off their uniforms revealing two young women dressed in smart work clothes. Together they led the Doctor into the house to one of the many studies, they sat him in one of two chairs offered him a smile each and left the room.

The Doctor looked around the room and whistled in approval, " Nice place. A bit … spacious, but nice."

"Thank you, Doctor."

He twisted in his chair. Another young lady had appeared and was wheeling in a small trolley. She was in her early twenties, had sparkling blue eyes and softly curled brown hair highlighted in places with red and gold streaks. Parking the trolley between the two chairs the Doctor got a closer look at her attire and had to smile for she was dressed in a blue pinstriped suit with a crisp cream blouse and smart shoes. Producing a key from her pocket she undid the cuffs around his wrists with a grin.

"There you go. You're safe now."

"Am I now. And who might you be?" He asked, rubbing his sore wrists.

"Tea, Doctor? Do you take milk or lemon?" She busied herself with the china tea set.

"Milk, ta." Taking the warm cup from her he sipped at it partly because he thought it might be drugged but mostly because he didn't want to burn his mouth. He sniffed and his eyes lit up spotting something else on the trolley, " Are those jam donuts and cream cakes? I'm starving!"

"Of course." Offering the sweet tray she watched him as he selected two cakes and a donut. Taking a cake for herself she sat in the chair beside him and drank her tea quietly. " You don't seem like an odd ball." She murmured after giving him a sneaky once over.

A blob a jam landed on his chin. "_Odd ball_? I'm not a…" He thought for a second and then shrugged, " Meh, fair enough." He agreed, wiping away the red smudge. Placing his empty cup back on the trolley he sat back in his chair with a satisfied sigh. "Ah, just what I needed- a cup of tea. Thanks for that, I'll be off now."

He was half way to the door when the woman said, " For someone who is a Lord of time, you have very little regard for it." Turning on his heels he retraced his steps and sat back down. She smiled, "I've got your attention, then?"

He narrowed his eyes leaning forward, " Who are you?" he asked again. "And how do you know I'm a Time Lord?"

She copied his actions, " You've been here for almost two weeks, so of course I know all about you and your TARDIS, what you're doing here, what you're trying to do to save the planet." She grinned showing perfect white teeth, "My name is Glorianna, Glory to my friends, and I want to help. Have you got a problem with that?"

" Nope." He returned her grin, " No problem, _Glory_." He added cheekily.

A cute blush crossed her cheeks. "Good. Then if you're ready," She made her way to a decorated bookcase and pushed back a big, pink novel. The wooden panelling next to the case slid back revealing a hidden stairwell. She offered her hand, " Let's get you kitted out."

The two of them descended to the lower foundations of the house. Stopping at a couple of large white doors Glory produced a card key and slotted it into the awaiting slot. The doors parted with a beep and the Doctor found himself gawping, for the second time, at the sight that greeted them. Glory led the way into the gleaming laboratory full of ladies in white coats, and high tech gadgets and gizmos of all shapes and sizes.

She walked and talked quickly, " Eggman is ready to activate the ray gun at midnight, which gives you at least six hours to find it and disable it. The Were-hog you encountered has beamed back to the Egg Fleet to recover. Celosia, if it is her, will make her move soon which, judging by her last attempt of world domination, isn't good. Are you keeping notes?" She frowned at his quietness and looked over her shoulder. "Doc?"

He had stopped to glance at an odd looking pillar. The lab assistants shooed him away before he touched something he shouldn't. Joining her side he frowned at her. " Its' the Doctor not Doc. You're not a talking cartoon rabbit. And no, I'm not taking notes. Can you start over?" Glory groaned out loud and he laughed, " Kidding!" He sniffed, " You got a plan to get onto the ARK? I'm not willing to risk the TARDIS if Eggman's got his sights on her."

"We have. Girls, the device." The group of ladies approached the Doctor. Two of them handed back his belongings while another two secured a thick metal band to his wrist. Glory slipped on a pair of thick-rimmed specs, the Doctor chuckled and she raised a brow. " What's tickling your funny bone?" With a shake of the head he reached into one of his pockets and held up on his own glasses against his face. She giggled, " Look at that. We're the perfect pair." Brushing the girls away she stepped up and straightened his tie, "Now listen carefully. The band you're wearing is a short-range teleport; we can't put you right by the weapon-it's too heavily shielded." She got work on his jacket, flattering the lapels, " The Ark is hard to get around at the best of times. Once we teleport you on board look for service duct 48-B, and head west. Now this is important, if you get into trouble or Ivo does manage to stop you using the thing in the bag- nice work by the way- use this," She placed a folded piece of notepaper in his top pocket and jabbed a finger at his chest, " Only in dire emergency." She insisted.

The Doctor nodded and went to activate the bracelet only to find no buttons to press. He gave Glory a slightly confused look, " How do I…"

She gave him a sad smile, " One way only." She nodded at her friends. " Get ready to activate on my signal."

"Wait, wait, wait!"

She huffed, " Time is short, Doctor. This better be good."

"It is."

"Well?" She folded her arms with a raised brow. " I'm waiting."

"Come with me."

"What?"

"Come with me." He repeated, this time offering a hand to her. "Be my companion. Come with me and be right in the thick of it. Help me save the planet and stop Eggman."

" Stop…Eggman…" She repeated in a trance like voice. She took off her glasses, " I don't know, I just don't." She muttered with a shake of her head. Her mind made up, she sighed deeply and said, " Activate the device."

"Teleport exchange in 20 seconds," Announced one of her girls. " 19, 18, 17, 16…"

She looked up; the Doctor still had his hand out and twiddled his fingers with a smile. There was something about him, something in his eyes calling out to her, something she had missed since Sonic had gotten ill. Her heart skipped a beat as she realised what it was; the promise of adventure. Cursing to herself, she groaned, shutting her eyes and murmured, " I must been insane!" Turning to the nearest girl she ordered them to take off their trainers, slipping on the pink shoes she sighed as, luckily, they were the right size. Grabbing a band for herself, Glory raced to the Doctor's side. He grinned at her, she frowned right back. " If I die…" She started.

He hushed her with a tap to the lips and laced their hands together. " Like you said; we're the perfect team."

"… 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Activate!"

She smirked, " We'll see." She saluted to her girls with a nod.

The girls nodded in understanding and snapped salutes back making the Doctor cringe. The bracelets around their wrists became warm and hummed; they were bathed in an emerald green glow and vanished in a shower of light and energy. Once the lab had died down Glory's girls looked at each other and then nodded. They headed into the Armoury, quickly dressed in combats and selected sleek but powerful weapons. While Glory and the Doctor dealt with the threat in the sky, they would do their best and help G.U.N out on the ground. But mostly they were doing it to help their precious Twin-Tail.

* * *

**A storm's coming to the ARK, I hope Eggman's insured.**

**I've decided to do this as a two- parter. If you don't like it, tough!**


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11.

The starry night sky that was as clear as anything earlier that evening was quickly covering thick grey clouds. Nobody, not even the weather specialists could explain the sudden change in the forecast. As heavy drops of rain started to fall a small group of people hurried across the paved courtyard outside Station Square Mall to the large building near it.

The group of homeless, not yet captured by the dreaded Knights of the reformed Eggman Empire, scurried like mice to the one place that would give their kind sanctuary- the church. An elderly man at the front desperately knocked on the solid oak doors, they opened with a creak revealing a priest with a very lined face who ushered them inside. Once in the welcoming warmth the priest showed them to empty benches and the group were not surprised to see more huddled in tight bands sipping warm soup and tea.

At the front a bunch of children had found hymnbooks and were now singing softly, a contrast to the wild storm outside. The old man, who was called Caleb, made sure his friends were all right before taking a look around. He made his way along the line of stain glass windows and stopped. The priest came up behind him and laid a comforting hand on his arm.

"Everything will be okay in the end, my son."

Caleb turned unconvinced, " How do you know, Father?"

The old priest smiled slightly looking at the window. " I have my faith and the stories."

"What stories?"

" Years ago, when my great-grandfather was stationed here, a giant rose from the ground ready to destroy everything in its path. They say a young man in a bow tie with knowledge beyond anything known on Earth and girl with hair as red as fire arrived to quell the demon. They fought the demon and won banishing it in a storm of bright light. And then… they simply vanished."

"Vanished?"

"Indeed." He gestured to the window and the others. "Please… enjoy the pictures , you might find something to restore your faith." With a nod he left.

Caleb turned back to the painting and sipped his tea thoughtfully. His eyes travelled around it, looking for comfort. They reached the bottom right and widened. He looked over to the priest who smiled and smiled shakily in return. The knot of dread lessened slightly in his stomach as he rejoined his friends.

The picture was a representation of some kind of religious tale with shepherds and animals in a field running from what could only be described as a monster. But in the bottom right corner nestled neatly amongst the brilliant greenery of the bushes was the unmistakable block of deepest blue complete was a golden halo surrounding it.

--

On the other side of the city Amy Rose looked out of the window at the gathering storm clouds and sniffed deeply. She shuddered and glanced behind her at the only bed in the room. On it was the still form of Sola, her ruined leg amputated by Uncle Chuck to be mended and still bearing the numerous cuts and bruises from the fight with the Dark Were-hog. She was a coma again hooked up to a single machine that bleeped out a steady rhythm as she slept.

The pink hedgehog sat in the plastic hospital chair she eyes never leaving the beeping screen. The door opened making her jump, Shadow walked in with a steaming cup and a solemn expression on his face. Placing the cup on Sola's bedside table, he crouched by her side and cupped her cheek.

" I've got to go now, I'm needed in Chun-Nan. The Commander's ordered all G.U.N officers to the City Centres. Looks like the Knights are making their move."

"What about me?"

Shadow glanced over at Sola, his expression softened a little. No surprise really, the two did have personal history. He sighed, " Somebody needs to be here if she wakes up to explain. I think that someone should be you." Amy nodded. " Good girl." He stood, kissed the top of her head, whispered he'd be back shortly and headed for the door.

"Wait. Where are you going?"

He turned one hand on the doorknob, his solemn expression back. " Somebody's got to stop the Doctor."

"Which one?" She squeaked at him. He didn't answer just left, closing the door softly behind him. Amy stared at it for a good long while sipping her cooled tea. Once emptied she returned the cup to the bedside table and looked at the head of the bed. She should've been a little startled at meeting two hazel orbs staring at her but she wasn't. " You heard that?"

" I did. And frankly you can't blame him for wanting to keep you _and _me safe. Though it's complicated, he loves us both as we do him." The cat tried to get up into a sitting position, found she couldn't, made a face of great discomfort and said, "Hey, Amy… why do I feel like I'm lopsided?"

Amy took to a seat on the edge of the bed. She took a deep breath before speaking. "W-Well, a-after the battle with the Were-hog you were in pretty b-bad shape and, well…Um…"

"Amy…" She growled impatiently. " What happened to me?"

Amy burst into tears, " I'm sorry, Sonic! We had to cut it off 'cause it was in such a bad state. But don't worry. Chuck sent you a replacement," she nodded to the opposite wall where a bulky, misshapen package was leaning against Amy's hammer. It looked oddly familiar." Tails stripped it before he left, so there's no risk of contamination. It's from Metal Son—Sola, don't!" She pushed the cat back down onto the pillows." You must rest. Doctor's orders."

Of course, she meant the doctors at the Hospital but Sola thought she meant _the_ _Doctor_. Face screwing up in anger, she screamed at the top of her lungs in a fit of rage, " Son of a-"

--

**Space Colony ARK…**

" Big itch…Oh, big, big itch. Can't get it." The Doctor reached down behind him making a feeble attempt to reach his tickling calf. " Can you get it for me?"

Glory, who was behind him, replied to his request with a stony expression. For hours now they'd been on their fronts edging along air vents that were just big enough to swing a cat. With an annoyed grunt, she reached out, grabbed his leg and rubbed it hard. The Doctor let out a contented sigh, shuddered and nodded. " Better?"

" Mm, thank you. Now, where are we?"

Glory hit her head on a low hanging pipe. " Y-you mean you don't know? B-but I told you! I said go through service duct 48-B to reach the Obedience Ray. I thought you knew, that's why I followed you."

He turned awkwardly in the cramped space to face her. An abashed look on his face, "You followed me? But I followed you!"

She sighed, dropping her head into her hands, " Perfect. So we're lost and it's nearly midnight. We'll never stop Ivo now."

"Never say never Glory. We'll find a way, there's always a…" He stopped in midsentence and frowned in puzzlement. "…Way." Laying back on his front he crawled down the section of shaft until he came to a three way split. He sniffed and then shuddered. "Ooh… That's nasty." He gestured her to join him, once she had he sniffed again, " I think my nose has just found the way out."

" Oh really?" She asked with the right amount of sarcasm and a raised a brow. " And how does your nose know?"

"Sniff." He said pointing down the left path. She did and choked as a sickening aroma flooded her nostrils. He grinned, " See? My nose knows."

"OK. So we know where he's hiding and that means the weapon can't be too far away. Any plans or suggestions?"

"I have one." He took out his sonic screwdriver and started loosening the grill in front of them." And it involves us getting away from this stink, I can't breathe!"

" Be careful," warned Glory as the grate wobbled dangerously, " There could be…" The grill fell from its position with a clatter right onto the head of a passing EK unit. The Knight whistled in shock, quickly reclaimed its balance and raised its arm blasting the section they were in. It crashed to the floor, the Doctor rolled out first looking dazed and confused. A second later Glory followed landing sprawled across his stomach. She looked up and sighed, "… Guards." She finished lamely. " Nice going, Doctor."

The EK aimed its weapon. _" You are under arrest and now prisoners of the Eggman Empire." _

The Doctor pushed Glory off, stood and grinned. " Really? In that case… Take me your leader!" They were led away; Glory panicked and started to mutter under her breath over and over. He reached over, gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and smiled. " Don't worry," He whispered, " It's all part of the plan."

" So, you got one?" She hissed back hopefully. He shook his head with a grin, she groaned and shook her head. " I knew it. I'm going to die, I'm going to die…" And to her annoyance the Doctor just chuckled.

The EK led them down long and twisted passageways, up and down numerous stairwells until they came to a stop in front of large double doors. The Doctor glanced at the robot; it remained inert on guard at the entrance. Clearly they were to go in alone so he adjusted his tie, smoothed out a wrinkle on his suit jacket, took a deep breath and, with a tight hold on Glory's hand, stepped forward.

The double doors hissed opened. Beside him he saw Glory quickly cover her mouth, he raised his brows at her in question. She lowered her hand, sniffed and let out a nervous giggle." Sorry. Reflex." She looked around the circular room puzzled that she couldn't smell the familiar odour of rotten eggs associated with the mad Eggman. No revolting smell meant that the EK must have led them away from the Obedience Ray deliberately. So the question was: Where were they now?

" Ah, Doctor." A loud stomping sound came from the far side of the chamber. A pair of clawed feet steeped into the light followed by a bulky round bowl. To the Time Lord it looked like a giant, walking eggcup, which it was basically. Eggman peered at the trespassers through his dark glasses and blinked. " Glory? You choose him over me? Over your own blood kin? You backstabbing, traitorous little tart!"

"Err… you two are related then?" The Doctor looked from Eggman to Glory and back again. Glory didn't meet his gaze, " Ooh-Kay. Got the hint, backing off." He quickly mimed zipping up his mouth and gave Eggman a cheeky thumbs up.

" Something like that. Along the lines of second cousins." Glory looked ashamedly at her shoes. " Same granddad, Professor Gerald Robotnik. He created Shadow and worked here surprisingly enough." The Doctor pursed his lips and nodded again taking it all in. " But that's where the similarities ends!" She insisted balling up her hands. " I use my technology for good and help people. He's the bad egg of the family."

"Blah, blah, BLAH…" Droned Eggman. " Same old story, really boring. Now, to the business at hand." He leaned forward slightly, " My Knights are in position and ready to show this world the true power of my Empire so, _**finally**_, the Earth will make me ruler and owner of all it precious resources." He laughed vivaciously. " All I have to do is press a little button."

"You only want one of its resources," The Doctor broke his silence, "and it happens to be the most precious of all. It's not diamonds, gold or knowledge. It's the people and I don't think they'll join you willingly."

"Pah! They'll see it my way soon enough."

"A bit far for them to go, hm? The Egg dome is miles away from the main cities. Do you expect them to sprout wings and fly or grow fins and swim?"

"No." Eggman's answer was plain. " The Egg dome is merely a simple amplifier for the signal. The up grading itself will take place closer to home. They will come to us."

The Doctor went, " Ah…" and sang, " _**The animals went in two by two**_… Simple plan. I like it."

"Thank you. I find simple plan are the best ones. I mean look at it, Doctor." He clicked his fingers and metal shutters opened on the other side of the room to reveal the most breath taking view- Earth Prime hanging in the diamond-studded vastness of space. " Who wouldn't want it?" He asked softly keeping a close eye on the shadows behind Glory as the Doctor walked over to the floor to ceiling windows, placing his hands on the glass the surface misting as he exhaled taking in the sight. " Isn't it beautiful?"

"Yeah… beautiful." He murmured, transfixed by the marbled planet.

"Doctor!"

The Doctor twirled around. His eyes blazing with fury at being tricked so easily. Glory was wide eyed clawing at the long nailed hand around her throat. A pair of golden eyes sparkled in the shadows, the shadow moved forward unveiling a ghostly woman with enormous bat like wings protruding out the back off her black floor length gown. Silvery hair flowed over her bare shoulders. While one hand was squeezing Glory's windpipe the other was holding a knobbly stick, on its top sat a red misty orb, no bigger than a golf ball. The Doctor quickly sized up the situation and realised with a feeling of dread he was out numbered.

Eggman laughed. " Do you think I'm that foolish? You see, Doctor, my plan is so simple and was in big trouble of going wrong thanks to that thing in you pocket." The Doctor's hand instantly patted his breast pocket; the bulky shape of the modified EK chip he'd stolen was still there. " Hand it over and I'll release your companion. I swear."

Taking out the food bag containing the chip, the Doctor slowly walked to the middle of a painted circle on the floor. He tossed the bag over to Eggman who calmly lifted a robotic foot and stamped on it, shattering the chip into a thousand bitty pieces. " Now what?"

Eggman's glasses glinted dangerously in the light. " HA!" He stabbed a green button on his Egg Walkers' dashboard and a glass tube fell from the ceiling trapping the Time Lord. He giggled insanely, " I can't believe the same trap worked twice! Don't bother trying to get out, old man," he added as the Doctor was in the process of scanning the surface with his sonic screwdriver. " The glass has been impregnated with Diamondius. It's been an honour, Doctor. Bye- bye!"

The floor opened underneath the Doctor, he took one last look at Glory's tear stained face and winked. There was a horrible sucking sound and then he was no more. Glory broke free from Celosia's hold and ran to the windows.

"Doctor!" She screamed ,pounding helplessly on the glass. Out of the corner of her eye she saw it and knew there was nothing she could about it. **No, no, no!**

Behind her Eggman and the Goddess exchanged looks of triumph. The mad man smirked and pressed another button, the ARK rumbled under their feet. From it's under belly a thin beam of blue light shot out and headed for Earth Prime just missing the trapped Doctor.

--

Down below, across the vast seas on the other side of the planet, Shadow looked at his buzzing phone and pressed the **accept **button. " Yes, I saw it too."

"_Well, obviously!"_ Came Rouge's voice, _" You know what this means? It means that the Doctor has failed and –Oh no! Men at arms! Code red…shoot to kill! Shadow…too many…help! Need… Shad--"_ The line died in a haze of static.

"Rouge? Rouge!"

"Sir, possible targets in bound. All of you… positions!" The officer standing next to him lifted his gun, the others followed suit. Shadow peered ahead, squinting pass the giant stone dragons that marked the village entrance in Chun-Nan, into the growing pink mist and blinked. " Sir, is there a problem?"

"That light…is that sunlight?"

"Yes, sir." Replied the officer, slightly bemused at the question. " Sun rise is in exactly three minutes. Why are you smiling?"

" There's still a tiny chance. Hold your positions. Remember, if it's shiny and moves, shoot to kill. I'll be right back." The black hedgehog stuffed the radio into the guard's hands and ran forward. The first wave of EK's that were lumbering forward spotted him and raised their arms ready to fire. " I don't have time for this!" He shouted, one of his hands bursting into pinks flames. He unleashed a series of Chaos Spears, jumping over the fallen robots as they fell to the ground in sparkling heaps. Knowing he had seconds to act, Shadow used Chaos Control and arrived at the Master Emerald Shrine.

As he expected, the gemstone was waiting for him pulsating in inner power. He ran full pelt at it; the whole area suddenly exploded with pure green energy and then with an almighty sonic- boom a golden comet shot out of its top, screaming up towards the emptiness of space.

--

Glory pressed herself against the window her heart sinking. Out side the unthinkable happened. The comet she'd seen headed for the Doctor, the impact of the two fast approaching objects lit up the darkness in a fireball of red and gold light.

"Doctor!!"

* * *

**I finished at last!! Well… this chapter anyway. Tee-hee!**

**Didn't mean for it to be so long.**

**Next chapter…we'll see.**


	13. Chapter 12

**Nearly there, just one more to go!**

Chapter 12. 

The Doctor was used to extreme situations. He faced them nearly everyday of his life, it came with the job of being a time traveller. It was the most natural thing in his world.

He stood in the capsule heading for the planet below at an alarming rate, standing there watching the stars whiz by, watching the blue beam from the ARK head for Earth Prime and activate the Obedience Ray. Now thousands of Egg Knights roamed the surface leading the unconverted to the warehouses dotted around the world for up grading. It was right in front of G.U.N's nose the whole time; the warehouse that had the scorch marks of an EK on its walls was one of the up grading facilities in disguise. And yet they did nothing so now they were paying the price.

Not his fault. Not really.

"C'mon, I'm waiting." Hands folded behind his back, rocking on his heels, he coolly looked out. A smile slowly tugged his lips. A ball of fire was coming right at him and the sight made him feel delighted. " That's it, Sparky-boy. I'm right here, c'mon!" The light became blinding, so bright like sunlight. The capsule smashed apart but instead of falling or drifting off into deep space the Doctor found himself hovering in a protective, golden bubble. Floating in front of him was a familiar looking hedgehog with glowing yellow fur and a smirk. He frowned, " And _**what **_do you think you're doing?"

Super Shadow's smirk grew bigger, " The right thing."

The Doctor laughed, "Well, it's about time!" Reaching out and taking Shadow's offered hand he held on tight. " Teleport us out of here. The remains of this capsule's going to blow like a Slitheen after a vinaigrette shower. " He grimaced, " Nasty."

" I have _**no**_ idea what you just said. Hold on, this could get bumpy." Shadow shut his eyes, summoning all the Chaos energy he could spare, making the bubble around them glow bright like a mini star. Brighter and brighter, expanding in a storm of light and fire and then, under the cover of the capsule exploding, vanished in a flash of gold.

A second later the pair found themselves standing in one of the dusty corridors back on board the ARK. The Doctor looked around, " Hang on…what's that?" He sniffed deeply, "Can you smell what I smell?"

" Rotten eggs? Yes. The room housing the Obedience Ray is not far, I couldn't teleport directly there because it's too shielded. I thought Glory explained that."

"She did." He rubbed his hands together, " Right, then. What's plan B?"

Shadow blinked, " You don't have one?"

"Of course I do! Don't I? I think... think, think, think." The Doctor paced back and forth the cramped space ruffling his hair. Muttering under his breath he started pulling out the contents of his pockets. "OK, what have we got? A yo-yo, a playing card– HA! That'll show Martha Jones I don't cheat. What else? Half a muffin, a piece of string, some coins and a book token." He peered at it and made a face, "Wouldn't be able to afford the fine now, anyway. Last but not least, physic paper, brainy specs and one sonic screwdriver." Taking the silver tube he read the base and then tapped it against his teeth. " Needs charging but good for a couple of short bursts. Hold on, what this?" From his breast pocket he pulled out a folded piece of notepaper, slipping on his glasses he read quickly and frowned. "Why did Glory give me a load of numbers?"

"Let me see." Taking the note Shadow read the digits. " They're coordinates."

" For what?"

" I'm not sure. But if Glory gave them to you then they must be important."

"OK, so its looks like we have a plan B." Snatching the note back, and after stuffing his odd and weird collection back inside his spacious pockets, the Doctor knelt in front of Shadow and placed his hands on his shoulders. Shadow flinched for a second but stilled under the deep gaze of the Time Lord. " Do you trust me?"

" Yes."

A brow rose. " This is important, Shadow. I want the truth. Do. You. Trust. Me?"

" Yes."

" Why?"

" Be…because you're the Doctor." He found himself saying.

He smiled cheerfully, " You bet I'm the Doctor. Right, here's the plan: I'll make my way to the weapon and see if I can stop it from transmitting the signal. I've done it before so it should be a piece of cake or muffin, if you prefer. You, meanwhile, will find Glory and get away from here. And if you meet Egg face and his-- (he said the next word through gritted teeth and a forced smile.)-- _Charming_ lady friend on the way you can give them a kick from me. I don't take too kindly at being shot at." He stood abruptly. " Sound good?"

Shadow actually _laughed_ before nodding. He said," Good luck, Doctor." Before vanishing in a flash of yellow.

The Doctor turned on his heels and did what he loved doing most—he ran. Bursting through the doors of the stairwell he took the steps two at a time, jumping the last three onto the next landing, through the next set of double doors without stopping. But soon he had to, a three way spilt stood in his way so he covered his eyes with one hand, turned on the spot and stopped looking down the right path. He took off once again and quickly lost all sense of direction. " Am I going the wrong way?" He wondered out loud breaking into a nearby service terminal, a second later he turned and dashed back up the corridor he'd just come down. " I'm going the wrong way!"

* * *

"There, there, my child." Celosia wrapped her wing tighter around Glory's shoulders, holding her close with no change of escape. Glory looked up at her, her blue eyes filled with loathing. The Goddess of Fire smiled sweetly back, " You'll make a fine addition to our metal family, don't you think, Eggy?" Eggman, who was watching the monitors merely nodded. " Of course… We'll let you see Sonic first, I know you have a soft spot for him, and after he's done with you, we'll just pop you into an Egg Knight and you'll be free of all those horrible human emotions." She shuddered, " You humans are so diseased."

"Oh, I don't know," Glory face slowly spilt into a smirk, " I like my emotions and feelings. At the moment I'm feeling hope. Hope's good." At the centre of the room a ball of golden energy expanded, bigger and bigger until it erupted. Glory dived for cover, the blast knocked Celosia off her feet, cause Eggman's walker-bot to lose one its legs and topple over, and lastly, the computers to shut down. Lowering her hand, Glory looked up and grinned, getting to her feet and dusting herself down. " Am I glad to see you."

Shadow returned her smile, " Likewise."

" And the Doctor?" She nodded towards the big windows. " I saw…that _was _you, right?"

" He's fine." A muttered curse made him turned around. His smirk turned into a sneer. " We meet again, Goddess."

Celosia fumbled to her feet, retrieving her staff and using it to pull herself up. Spying the golden hedgehog her eyes widened. " You…"

He waved back, " Hello."

"What's going on? What was that-- Shadow?" Eggman had managed to wiggle out of his ruined machine and was now sitting on his hunches. Upon finding just Glory and Shadow standing there, he burst out in a fit of giggles, " This is it? This is all you got to stop us? What a joke!"

"Well…" Started Glory.

"_Is this on? What does this do?" _The screens flickered and a fuzzy shape emerged, it got clearer and a thin face topped with spiky hair smiled down the camera at them._"Hello! Sorry 'bout that. Not use to these controls. It's Glory and Shadow! And Eggman and his bat-bird too. This is like _This Is Your Life,_ blimey."_

"He's alive? B-but that's not possible! How…" The Goddess looked at Shadow who shrugged. "You…saved him."

"Yes, because it was the right thing to do."

"I'll murder you, Shadow! You've ruined everything!" She screamed. The red orb on top of her stick glowed dangerously. Eggman, who had got to his feet, held her back before she did something stupid- like blowing out a wall and causing them all to drift off into space. " Do you realise what you've done!"

" Err…saved the day?" He offered innocently. Glory hid her smile with the back of her hand.

The Doctor cleared his throat, _" Excuse me, but I think _I'm_ the one whose saving the day. Yep, me all by my lonesome. And talking about realising things, do _you_ realise what you've done? This place is a mess! You might think yourself a –ahem- genius, Egg head, but you've trashed the place, completely tearing out and gutting important and vital systems all so you can make it run faster and more effectively…"_ He suddenly found something that stopped him waffling, he looked at them, and then down at the console and up again with a boyish smile plastered on his face._"Oh-ho! The mess is one thing, but how do you think I'm going to react to a big red button that must never, _ever_ be pressed, hm? Well, it makes me want to do _this_!"_He slammed his palm down. The ARK rumbled beneath their feet again. Eggman hurried to the terminals and started hitting buttons left, right and centre, thumping the screens as code after code was rejected. _" What do you think, big fellow?"_

" EK productivity has slowed, no… it's completely stopped! The Doctor's blocked the signal."

The Doctor tone was humourless, _" No more converting, Eggman. It stops right now. I've just declared independence for the people."_ He waved the screwdriver menacingly, _" Just one burst should do the trick."_

" No. Don't!" He pleaded, " You'll kill us all!"

Celosia took charge; grabbing one of Eggman's sleeves she pulled it back to reveal a hidden communicator and screamed, " All Knights withdraw. Emergency teleport, all Knights withdraw, now!" She looked at the screens, face screwed up in anger. " You might've won this day, Doctor. But know this; when we meet again there be no Mercy waiting for you, any of you!" With one last look of contempt, she flicked a button on the comm. and both she and Eggman disappeared in a blue shimmer." Your day will come Time Lord!"

The Doctor sniffed and looked away, _" If I had a jelly-baby…"_

The room was quiet; the only sound was the soft hum of the lights. Glory made her way to the abandoned computers and pressed the **call** logo. " Um, Doctor? Is everything all right?"

" _Fine. Just fine—OW!"_ He appeared in shot sucking his fingers._" What the heck was that? Some sort of… Oh, that not good. Not good at all."_

" Doctor?"

"_Blinking red lights. Not a good sign. Um, maybe a little help."_ He confessed sheepishly.

She nodded at once, " We're on our way. C'mon, Shadow let's roll."

"_You didn't just say that, did you? Because that's _so_ corny."_ He caught Glory's glare and nodded._" See you in a few then."_

Glory hurried to where Shadow was waiting. Taking his hand, the hedgehog teleported them to the same place as the Doctor before. Quickly running down the stairwell and following their noses, they came to the room housing the Obedience Ray and knew instantly something was wrong.

The Doctor was in his shirtsleeves under the main console, his sonic tool buzzing away. He crawled out, tapped the keyboard, groaned with frustration and dived back under. Glory took off her jacket depositing it on a swivel chair (the Doctor's was on the other.), slipped on her own glasses and tried to help any way she could. Shadow looked around, it looked normal enough: there was the big screen on the back wall showing the blueprints and statistics of the ray gun and its adjoining console that the two geniuses were working on, an assembly of filing cabernets lined the left wall while a small collection of monitoring stations lined the right. He could see what got the Doctor agitated before, the floor was littered was all kinds of fancy equipment and inner workings of the weapon. But that wasn't the only thing that didn't look right in the small space. The console was blinking red lights and he was sure that if the Doctor did switch the sound back on the alarms would be ringing out.

The Doctor and Glory turned to face each other, " He's cut the safety!" They said in unison and then, "Nice glasses. Oh, thank you."

"Will you two stop playing around? What does that mean?" Shadow pointed to the big screen, on it a smaller screen had popped up showing a load of numbers in red. As they watched the numbers started counting down. The Doctor shoved Glory to one side and started searching the database. " Well?"

"He's cut the safety. As soon as that read out reaches zero the signal will overload causing a major backfire in the system. Everyone wearing ear pods will die of a massive brainstorm. Before you arrived, I managed to block the primary command so no one can be converted now, they're safe. Just standing around in a daze, but safe." Suddenly he kicked the consoles base, "If only Eggman hadn't broken the modified emotion chip! I could have plugged in it and used his own weapon against him. I could have…"

"We still can." Cut in Glory, looking up at the screen her brow furrowed in concentration. " I'm declaring an emergency. Doctor, your jacket, please." Wordlessly he handed it over, she dived into the breast pocket and pulled out the folded bit of paper she'd given him earlier. " Great. It's still here. Type these coordinates into that station over there." She jabbed a thumb to one of the monitors lining the right wall.

The Doctor, as confused as he was, did what he was told. " What's so great about these numbers anyway? Shadow just said…"

" _Target confirmed. Master Emerald located."_ Next to the screen with the numbers popped up another screen. On this one was a lone green gemstone, it was as big as car and was glowing with intense power and light. The Doctor shivered as he felt the gems' mental ability pulling at his mind weakly, even all the way out in space. The computer beeped in alarm._ "Warning. Primary boosters are off-line. Main controls disengaged. System compromised."_

"Ooh, not good." He rubbed the back of his neck.

Glory seemed unfazed, "Under control." Scooping up a pair of headsets from the trash pile, she gave one to Shadow and quickly spoke to him in hushed tones. Shadow nodded at once, saluted and disappeared in a flash. Slipping on her own earpiece, she typed on the keypad quickly drawing up the gun's blueprints and watched as the barrel of the giant ray gun move slightly along with another mighty rumble. A load of static filled her earpiece, she nodded in understanding, " OK, Shads. You stay there and keep it steady." Looking over her shoulder at the Doctor, she smirked. "All yours."

" But you were doing so well."

She gave a modest shrug, " I can only do so much. I'm good with computers, passwords and firewalls but not so good with _codes_." Her blue eyes sparkled. The Doctor grinned widely as he got the hint.

" Codes…codes…_codes! _" He cheered; grabbing the keypad from her, bringing up another small screen and started typing frantically. " The cancellation code behind the emotional inhibitor. Hm, to gain access I need it to recognize my big brain. Aha, got it! Watch this!" Row after row of numbers scrolled across the screen. Glory blinked, her eyes going fuzzy behind her glasses. She'd never seen someone type so fast before, both she and Tails were pretty good with complicated mathematics and techno stuff but the Doctor was in a league of his own. "…And last but not least, just to finish off, an extremely hard series of equations, a couple of diagrams and the code itself." The computer bleeped acceptance and he grinned. " Ooh, I'm good! _Molto Bene_!"

* * *

The ARK clanged and clanked. The Obedience Ray powered up and, with Shadow keeping it steady, shot another concentrated beam of blue energy towards the Earth. It hit the atmosphere with a muffled boom, journeying down to a mountainous region and straight into the waiting Master Emerald. The gemstones' pulsation grew quicker, a steady beat of three, its glow getting brighter and brighter. It hummed deeply and then an ear-splitting roar, like a jet engine, rang out followed by a green mist that covered the planet in seconds. The mist reached the major cities, as soon as it washed over any one wearing ear pods the pods let out a shrill whistle causing the owners to shout in immense pain and fall to the ground clutching their ears.

An officer in Shamar approached an identical couple that had fallen. Hesitantly he prodded them with the butt of his gun. A groggy groan left the man's lips and the woman beside him stirred and bleakly opened her eyes. She let out a startled squeak at finding a gun pointed at them.

" Are you two alright?" He asked softly.

The pair looked at each other and then to the many others who were waking up as if from heavy slumbers and frowned. " Where are we?" They asked together. _Yep, definitely twins._ He thought.

The officer, explaining to the best of his abilities, helped them to their feet and led them towards a convoy of trucks and coaches waiting to take them and the others to G.U.N's research labs for decontamination. He looked up at the pinking sky and mouthed a silent thank-you.

And as an added bonus the wave, because was made of such intense Chaos energy, as soon as it struck the Egg dome it disintegrated it in one swoop, leaving nothing but a large ash pile that quickly got swept up in the winds and carried away.

* * *

The Doctor gave a great whoop of delight and fell back into his chair clearly exhausted. Glory did the same a second later, her glasses slipping down her nose. She let her head loll back onto the headrest a smile on her face. The Doctor took his own specs off and rubbed the bridge of his nose with a satisfied murmur.

She turned to face him, " Not bad. For an odd ball."

He grinned, " Not bad yourself." He bounced in his seat bubbling with child like glee. " We just saved the planet. This calls for a high- five. Slap me some skin, sister!" Glory slapped her palm to his, causing their swivel chairs to twirl in opposite directions.

And that's how Shadow found them. The golden hedgehog emerged minutes later to find the pair giggling their heads off, spinning their chairs across the length of the room in some sort of demented kiddie race. From the doorway he folded his arms, and sighed. " Honestly."


	14. Epilogue

**It's nearly taken me a whole year but here we are. The end.**

**Second half of this is in the works, no title just yet but you'll know it when you see it.**

**Big thanks to all that have taken the time to read this, I mean… over 1,000 hits! You guys ROCK!**

**Hope you enjoy the last chapter; it's been a blast writing for the Doctor. Not sure if I did Mr Tennant justice, nobody does it better than him.**

**Don't forget to review.**

**Again, thanks!**

* * *

Epilogue.

High up in the depths of space safely hidden behind the robotic moon and shielded by the weak radiation it gave off, Eggman stood on the Bridge of his newest Battleship looking out at the calmness of it all with a gentle smile on his face. Things, in Celosia's eyes, may have gone wrong and it would seem that the other Doctor had won, but, as he turned and walked down a brightly lit corridor, that wasn't the case.

Stopping at a blue door he knocked softly. A second later the door opened a crack, " Err… My little firefly?" The door slammed in his face, nearly catching his enormous nose. " Come on, sweet-pea. I've got something for you, a present."

The door opened again, Celosia poked him hard in the chest, " I'm in no mood for your presents, Robotnik! You've messed up everything. I had the perfect plan and means to pull it off and you ruined everything!"

" Tech-Technically it wasn't my fault. It was Shadow and that Doctor-man." He tugged at his shirt collar, feeling the angry prickle of sweat beading on his head. "Please don't be mad. Come and see your present. You'll like it, I promise." She wavered a little. "Please?"

Reluctantly she let herself be led down the corridor to a huge storage area. Standing by the railings Eggman flicked on the lights. Looking down into the vast pit, her mouth formed a small **O** of surprise. " I…" The floor was lined with row after row of new black EK's; each one had a golden E branded on their cheat plates, their ear pods were studded with red lights and their eyes were blue. " I…" She was lost for words.

Eggman smiled, " Behold our Elite Knights, my Queen. Vastly improved to withstand any meddling the Doctor might come up with. Their only goal is to serve the Eggman Empire by whatever means possible." A smile slowly spread across her fangs as she looked on. A clang echoed behind her making her jump and turn. The Dark Were-hog was crouched in the corner idly picking at the ground, lost in his own little world. Eggman shook his head, " I worry about him. It seems he lacks the killer instinct he had the last time he was free. Do you think he's made a mistake possessing Sonic?"

The Goddess grinned hooking her arm through his, "No fear, Eggy darling. As soon as we have his Eye, he'll be up to full strength and the monster from the legends. I promise you. But enough of him, please introduce me to our new boys."

" But of course." They stepped up to the railings. Eggman cleared his throat before speaking into the microphone. " Attention! Identify your selves."

The robots stood to attention. The thin strip of their mouthpieces lighting up as they spoke as one, _" We are the Elite of the Eggman Empire."_

" And that means?"

" _All other robotic life forms are inferior."_

"Good…" He smirked, sunglasses glinting dangerously. " And what must you do if you find any?"

" _Destroy them!"_

Celosia giggled in delight, throwing her arms around his neck she planted a sweet kiss on his cheek and hugged him tightly. "Oh, Eggy! Best present ever!"

* * *

**Some time later...**

The clean up of Project **E-NET**was finally complete. Weeks had past, maybe months no one was sure. All ear pods and research of the false Mr Roberto had been collected and destroyed courtesy of the Doctor who popped it all in the TARDIS, flown near a collapsing star and deposited the goods at its centre. Well, that what he said anyway.

It was a brisk, sunny afternoon. A large white building with a glass dome roof, Station Square Hall, stood all gleaming and important. Parked nearby was a flatbed truck, its back covered with plastic sheeting. Next to that was a simple block of deepest blue—the TARDIS. A quartet of guards in navy stood on watch, keeping the precious time machine safe from passer-bys.

Inside the vast chamber a wide passageway ran down the middle flanked by two blocks of seats. Each block was ten seats across and twenty seats down. The two front rows were for the V.I.P's and they were packed. In front of the seats was a pit that was normally used by an orchestra during panto season, but today it was home to every TV news channel from around the world, each cameraman fighting for prized position. Above the pit looking down at the chairs below was the stage itself, a microphone on a pedestal stood alone in a single spotlight.

In the seats at the front of the left side sat Glory and the Freedom Fighters. Glory was in a smart red dress surrounded by her three bodyguards in black. Next to them was Chuck in a new brown waistcoat holding a homemade digital camera. Tails in the next chair looked around in childlike awe, grinning at the trio with Glory who grinned back. Beside him sat Rouge sporting a purple sweater dress and black leggings. Shadow was next, sitting calmly with his eyes shut and arms folded. Amy, in a similar outfit to Rogue but red, bounced in her seat. She turned to the person next to her and smiled.

The Doctor gave an unconvincing smile back and tried to make himself as small as possible in his chair. He really wanted to go. He hated grand gestures and the cameras weren't making him feel any more comfortable. The planet might have been saved but Eggman was still out there and that was not good. He had a horrible, sinking feeling in his gut that something was coming. Something very, very bad. He looked over to the last seat and finding it empty, sighed.

Due to technical difficulties Sola was unable to attend, and even though on previous adventures he'd said he wasn't a cat person, the Doctor had to admit the robotic feline had grown on him. He thought back on his adventure and found himself thinking about Sola and her little quirks; her tail puffing up when danger was nearby or when she got annoyed. Her eyes sparkling the first time she entered the TARDIS, her face lighting up with delight at the absurdity of it all. Plus some of Sonic's traits finding their way through; the folding of the arms and the cocked hip, the determination to see things to the end and the on going search for the next adventure. He could see her quite at home in the TARDIS, sitting on the pilot seat ready to share adventures.

He blinked and quickly became aware that all eyes were on him. A smartly dressed man in a grey suit with brown hair was looking at him expectantly. Mayor Taylor gave him a short curt smile though gritted teeth, clearly a man who didn't like being kept waiting. The Doctor decided on the spot he didn't like him. Clearly he had zoned out and missed the _**big **_speech about how they were taking in by Eggman's technology once again and that they managed to over come it with quick thinking and by learning from their mistakes they had bonded even closer as a planet. Blah, blah, blah… Freedom Fighters saved the day with help from their newest ally…

"Oh, me!" He blurted loudly making the row behind break out in giggles. Amy gave a big heave and dragged him out of his chair. He stumbled and smiled embarrassingly at the cameras while the crowd chanted over and over; " Doc-tor! Doc-tor! Doc-tor!"

The room was silenced as the oak doors of the entrance opened. A stream of sunlight travelled up the central path, into every camera lens rendering them useless and causing all the operators to mutter a string of colourful curses. A shadow stood in the doorway. A small shadow. The Doctor stepped into the light shielding his eyes against the brightness. The doors closed, light levels returning to normal and he blinked, and then shot a sidelong glance at Tails who grinned sheepishly.

Dressed in a clean pale pink t-shirt and blue waistcoat, black fur groomed and her right leg mended with a new one in blue metal complete with a clawed red foot, Sola's face broke into a beaming smile. Without hesitating she ran forward, blond hair flying behind her. The Doctor stood motionless for a second and then he too broke into a run. Eating up the carpet in long strides he had a feeling of déja vu but this time there was no Dalek to shoot him. In one fluid motion he scooped her up and hugged her tight swaying a little on the spot . Her happy sigh was lost against his neck; his answering chuckle was muffled in her shoulder. They stayed like that for what seemed like hours. The crowd stood quite still, too stunned to do anything. Finally the Doctor lowered Sola to her feet and looked at her in puzzlement.

" I thought you were… indisposed."

" Me?" She shook her head, "Nah! I had some errands to run, important errands." Folding her arms in a very Sonic-like way she looked up at him with a serious expression. " The deadly duo are still out there. They must be stopped. You'll need help if you're thinking about going after them—which you are." The Doctor opened his mouth but then quickly closed it and nodded. " Great! We're coming with you. We're experts at this sort of thing, that and I want a rematch with big bad wolf me. Time for a little payba--"

"Hold on. What did you say?" The Doctor's eyes narrowed slightly.

" I said you need our help."

"No, no, no. After that." He knelt in front of her, this time _**his**_ expression was the serious one. " What did you say?"

" We're experts at fighting Eggman?"

"After that." Somewhere in the background a church bell sounded the hour. Sola looked around her at the crowd, many people started looking at their watches in confusion and muttering. It had only gone 25 minutes past. The Doctor stood mugging his chin. " You said it too. I didn't take a blind bit of notice; I thought it was just a blip, a small blip. Twice? Yeah, a blip but three times?" The bonging got louder and deeper, it was something far bigger than the old church bell. " It was a warning and I should have listened! Two words. Always two words."

" Doctor, what's wrong?" She turned to face him but found an empty space. The Doctor was already running for the exit, she turned to her friends who were on their feet. " We have to go." She explained to a very bemused looking Mayor. Glory and Chuck grinned and nodded in understanding. Outside the cat found him trying to force the TARDIS key into its lock, he was shaking. " Doctor, what's wrong?" She asked again.

"Two words. Always two—bloody—words." Finally the doors opened. He hurried up the ramp to the console and started pressing buttons and flicking numerous switches pausing just long enough to notice the new additions to the control room: Five bulging rucksacks, a blue mini go-kart, a grey suitcase with a glass front that showed the Grey Emerald sitting in a stable state and lastly a battered trunk that, when he peeked inside, housed a lot of high tech gear. " What the--?" He looked up and found the Freedom Fighters closing the door behind them. "What's going on?"

Sola stepped forward, a smirk in place. "Like I said, Doctor, you need help and this time _**we're**_ the experts. Now these two words, what are they and what do they mean?" She folded her arms again and tapped her foot, " Well…I'm _**way**_-ting." Behind her the others broke into identical grins (Even Shadow.) After fearing Sonic was lost, it was completely the opposite. The hedgehog was back and ready for business.

The Doctor copied her actions. Leaning back on the console he spoke clearly and simply, " Bad Wolf. A simple phase, it's meaning; the end of the universe." Hitting a button, the bonging inside the TARDIS stopped. "That's better." At their frowns he explained, " The cloister bell is the TARDIS' way of telling me something bad is going to happen unless I stop it. With help of course." He grinned at them.

The Freedom Fighters grinned back, hurried up the ramp and took their places around the mushroomed shaped console. " Right, so what's the plan?" Asked Rouge. " How do we find Eggman?"

He brought round the computer screen, " Oh, _**that's **_easy! Easy-peasy, lemon- squeezy. I just plug in my screwdriver here, wait a second and bingo!" They gathered around him and peered closely at the small screen, on it was a planet that looked a lot like Earth Prime but it was a pink and orange version. It floated in plain sight for a couple of seconds and then…vanished!

"What the heck happened?" Went Shadow, blinking at the blank view. " What planet was that?"

" Hm. That, my broody hedgehog, is the planet Mercentoras aka Mercy. Part of a group of planets called the Mirage Cluster. They can fade in an instance and reappear somewhere completely different, just like _**that**_." He snapped his fingers. " But it's not the planet we-or Eggman- are interested in. Mercy is famous for its little disappearing act, but its also famous for its second moon. And if we find it, I bet my last bag of jelly babies we'll find Eggman."

" Really?" Tails looked unconvinced. "What's so special about some dumb moon?"

The Doctor's grin grew, " If you visited that _**dumb moon**_ you'll go home a much smarter person, or fox or whatever. That _**dumb moon **_also goes by another name. Have any of you ever heard of the Lost Library?" From his pockets he pulled out a pair of 3D glasses, slipped them on and peered intently at each of them as they exchanged nervous glances before nodding as one. " Brilliant! Next question… For Shadow, I think. Have you ever been there?" Again the group looked nervous. Amy glanced at Shadow and nudged him in the ribs, the black hedgehog sighed deeply before nodding. The Doctor beamed at him, bounded over and starting turning him this way and that. " You've just made my day, Shadow. I'll explained later, I promise. But for now," He pulled down on a big flat lever, the TARDIS rocked and shook violently, the central pillar started moving bathing them in green. The Doctor chuckled wildly, a manic gleam in his eyes as the group held on for dear life." Hold on to your lunches!"

Outside the Hall, the quartet of guards stepped back apprehensively as a low rumbling groan emanated from within the blue box. They covered their ears as the sound grew deafening. The lamp on top of the TARDIS blinked into life as it slowly faded away into nothingness. It reappeared a split-second later in the purple-gold storm of the Time Vortex, spinning wildly towards it next adventure.

**Fin. To be continued…**

**Taking some time off… but I will be back!**


End file.
